The End is Where we Begin
by Faberrittanainthetardis
Summary: Crisis AU. Instead of Barry being told by the Monitor that he's going to die in Crisis, Kara is told instead. She sets out to prepare herself and her family and friends for her ultimate demise. Supercorp. Plus Danvers sisters and superfriend scenes! No actual character death in this by the way.
1. Chapter 1

"Would you be okay without me?"

The question came out of nowhere and having been engrossed in the movie they were watching, Alex did a doubletake and looked at Kara in surprise. "_What_?"

"Without me." Kara wasn't looking at Alex. She was watching her own fingers fiddling with the blanket draped over the two of them. "Would you be okay?"

Alex reached for the remote, pausing the movie. She'd known that something was wrong. Kara had been unusually quiet all night and she'd only eaten half the pizza she usually would. The other two were still on the coffee table in front of them. "You mean if you moved away or something?"

Kara shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess. You could say that. Or maybe if I wasn't around for some other reason. Like if something happened to me. You know, the thing with Rein happened last year and I've almost died more times than I care to count since I became Supergirl."

"Where is this coming from?" Alex frowned, turning more on the couch so she was facing Kara. "What's going on?"

Kara bit her lower lip, managing a slight shrug. Feeling Alex's hand come to rest on her arm she felt her eyes prickle with tears. She quickly blinked them away. "Can you answer the question?"

"Of course I wouldn't be okay. How could you think that?" Alex shook her head in disbelief. "I've told you so many times, I _can't_ lose you. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."

Kara nodded mutely, swallowing against the lump in her throat.

"You're kind of scaring me, Kara," Alex admitted nervously. "Tell me what's going on. Why are you suddenly thinking about this stuff?"

"We both know it a possibility. I just have a bad feeling, Alex. Like something is going to happen to me."

"Like dying?"

"Right." Kara nodded in response. "And I just want to know that you'll be okay so I can…"

"What? Go gently into that good night?" Alex's tone was slightly harsh when she spoke but there was no disguising the worry in her voice. "If thinking I'm going to be okay will help you do that then no, Kara. I won't be okay. Not by a longshot. Losing you would destroy me."

Kara felt her eyes dampen slightly as she recalled the Monitor's words to her. "Alex…"

"_In the coming crisis, Supergirl must die."_

"It's not gonna happen." Alex wrapped her arms around Kara from the side, drawing her close to hug her tightly. She pressed her lips firmly to Kara's hair. "I'm never going to let anything happen to you."

Kara sniffled softly and nodded her head, letting herself relax into Alex's gentle embrace. She closed her eyes as Alex's fingers gently combed through her hair and after a short while she felt herself starting to drift off. It was only an especially deep breath from Alex that dragged Kara back into consciousness. "I think I'm going to get some sleep."

"Oh. Yeah, of course. Seems like you need it." Alex gave a gentle chuckle when Kara elbowed her gently in the ribs. "Ow!"

"Will you stay? I mean...stay with me?" Kara asked quietly as she pulled herself away from Alex. She bit her lip as Alex studied her closely but her nerves melted away when her sister flashed a warm smile.

"Sure. Get ready for bed and I'll put this pizza in the fridge for tomorrow." Alex replied as she used Kara's knee as leverage to push herself up off of the couch.

Kara watched Alex for a moment before she got to her feet and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She went through her usual nighttime ritual before she padded into her bedroom and slipped into bed.

"_In the coming crisis, Supergirl must die_."

_Kara stared at the Monitor, her expression blank as she tried to take in what he was saying. If she was honest, she was still stunned by the fact that he had appeared in the middle of her apartment, seemingly out of nowhere. "What does that mean?"_

"_Something is coming." The Monitor replied in his usual monotone drawl. "Something which will force you to make the ultimate sacrifice for those you love. And the billions of lives at stake."_

Kara was broken from her thoughts by Alex plopping down on the bed next to her. She turned over to face Alex, watching as her sister got under the blankets with her. A small smile tugged at her lips as she watched Alex shiver and try to wrap the blankets tighter around herself. "I hope you're not going to steal all of my blankets tonight."

"You invited me in here, remember?" Alex grinned at Kara. "You practically asked for your blankets to be stolen."

Kara turned her face into her pillow to hide the smile that tugged at her lips. "Whatever." She didn't get a response from Alex and she looked up again to see that Alex's eyes were closed. "Do you remember when we used to do this as kids?"

Alex smiled softly at the memory. "You mean when you used to crawl into bed with me and I'd pretend to be annoyed about it for five minutes until I gave in?"

"Mmhm," Kara mumbled in response. "You've always been the person I feel safest with. Back when I had nightmares, nothing could calm me down like you did."

Alex opened her eyes to look at Kara, noticing the sadness reflected in Kara's blue eyes. "Well, the feeling is mutual."

Kara felt her eyes prickle with tears once more and she moved forward, wrapping her arm around Alex's waist. She buried her face in Alex's chest to hide her tears. "I'm sorry about bringing that up before."

"It's okay." Alex murmured, her arms going around Kara. "There's no limit to what you can talk to me about." She felt Kara nod into her chest and waited for a moment before she continued. "I meant what I said though. I'll die before I let anything happen to you. You should know that by now."

Kara hummed in acknowledgment and Alex sighed softly. "Get some sleep. I'll treat you to breakfast tomorrow. Deal?"

"Leftover pizza is breakfast," Kara mumbled before she pulled back just a little.

"Pizza can be lunch tomorrow," Alex smirked in response. "I'm buying you real breakfast."

Kara smiled warmly in response. "Thanks, Alex. You're the best."

"I'm aware."

-

The second Kara opened the door, Nia knew that something was up. Kara was wearing a weird, almost crazy smile on her face. "Uh...hi."

"Hey, Nia!" Kara's voice came out a little higher than usual and she quickly ushered Nia into the apartment. "Thanks for coming!"

"You're welcome?" Nia asked unsurely. She heard Kara close the door behind her. A moment later the Kryptonian was brushing past her, hurrying toward the kitchen.

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"A glass of water would be nice. Thanks." Nia hung up her bag and jacket and ventured into the kitchen behind Kara. She accepted the glass of water offered to her with a small smile. "Thanks."

She took a sip, watching Kara begin to nervously fidget in front of her. Slowly, she lowered the glass and set it on the kitchen table. "What's wrong?"

"Am I that obvious?" Kara asked with a small smile. "We've been friends for a while now, right?"

"Right?"

"And...I like to think we're close friends." Kara continued anxiously, wringing her hands in front of her. "Like I am with Brainy, James, Lena…" She grimaced slightly at the last one. "Well uh...like I was with Lena. Not that I don't want to be friends with her again. I do. I definitely do, I'm just…"

"You're rambling, Kara," Nia said with a soft smile. She reached out, placing a hand upon Kara's to stop her fidgeting. "What do you need from me? A kidney? Because I'm willing but I didn't think you of all people would need something like that…"

Kara managed a soft laugh at that and felt herself calm slightly. "I need a favor. A really big favor. And I need you to keep it a secret from everyone. Nobody can know."

Nia frowned at that but nodded for Kara to go on. "Okay, I promise."

"There's this...person I know. Well, he's not really a person, more like...a being. Like a god. Almost." Kara answered carefully. "And he's told me something about my future. I need you to tell me if it's true."

"You know a god?" Nia asked in confusion. "Like Thor?"

"No. Can we focus?" Kara gripped Nia's hand back. "This is really important. Will you do it? Please?"

"Use my dream powers? Of course." Nia answered without hesitation. She noticed the worried look on Kara's face. "There's something else."

"He needs to be here," Kara admitted, tugging Nia toward the couch. "To...sort of give you a boost. And so you can see what he knows."

"I guess it's fine," Nia replied, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was about to meet a god. "So you can just call him?"

"I've never tried." Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Uh...hey! Monitor?" She heard a gasp from Nia and opened her eyes to see the Monitor had appeared next to them. "Whoa. I didn't expect that to work. You just appear when I call you?"

"Not always." The Monitor answered, briefly glancing at Nia before he turned his focus back to Kara. "However it is imperative that you understand the threat which is to come. And your role in preventing it. Therefore I will help you to see the truth. Along with Dreamer. Of course."

Nia sat down heavily on the couch. "You know me?"

The Monitor nodded. "You too will have a role to play."

"Can we just get this over with?" Kara sat down next to Nia.

"Very well. Close your eyes."

Kara glanced at Nia and reached for her hand, grasping it tightly. "Just in case." She mumbled before she let her eyes close. She felt a touch to her head and she opened her eyes.

She expected to see the room she had been in, but instead, she found herself in the middle of the street, people running past her. "Nia?!"

"I'm here." Nia appeared next to Kara, glancing around. "What the hell is…"

Kara grabbed Nia's arm, trying to back them both away as a wave of red rushed toward them. She barely managed to stumble back before they were engulfed. Everything turned black for a split second and then the next few minutes were a series of flashes. The DEO being wiped away. Brainy. Nia. James. Catco. Her mother. Kal and Loius with the baby. Alex getting caught up in the red mist as she tried to help people escape it. Lena struggling to find a solution until the very end.

Over and over again, the scenario played out in different ways, finally ending with Kara herself flying into the red wave.

Kara gasped as she was dragged back to reality and she quickly jerked her hand away from Nia's. The Monitor was gone.

"Kara…" Nia's voice was trembling as she stared at Kara. "What the hell was that?"

Kara opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, unable to get her words out for a moment. "The Monitor was right. I-I have to die."

"What are you talking about?" Nia got to her feet, anxiously staring down at Kara.

Kara's fingers dug into the couch, inadvertently piercing the upholstery. "_In the coming crisis, Supergirl must die_. That's what the Monitor told me. If I'm going to save everyone else, I have to sacrifice myself."

"Kara!" Nia exclaimed loudly, trying to break Kara from the trance she seemed to be in. She was relieved when Kara met her eyes but it did nothing to ease the panic she felt. "This can't be right. There has to be something else we can do. Anything. You can't just give up."

Kara bowed her head, trying to hide the tears that filled her eyes. "You saw it, Nia. All of those timelines. Billions of them. And there's only one way to stop what happened."

"It can't be!" Nia sat down on the coffee table in front of Kara. "W-We just have to tell Alex. Maybe we can figure something out."

"We're not telling Alex!" Kara's voice was sharper than she intended it to be as she looked up at Nia. "Not yet. You can't tell anyone about this, Nia. You promised."

Nia gritted her teeth. That was a promise she wished she hadn't made. "You can't do this alone, Kara."

"I'm not alone. I have you." Kara forced a smile to her face but it quickly slipped away. "Thanks for doing this for me. I know it couldn't have been easy to see all of that."

"Kara, are you okay?" Nia asked gently, concerned by the way Kara seemed to be shutting herself off from what she was feeling. Or trying to at least.

"I'll be fine." Kara lied, slowly getting to her feet. "I just need some time to process. Um...you should probably be getting back to work, right?"

"Well...yeah but I can stay if you want me to." Nia said even as she followed Kara to the door.

"It's fine," Kara replied in a strained tone of voice. "This crisis isn't coming anytime soon. We have some time. I think."

"O-Okay." Nia took her things from Kara and watched as Kara opened the door for her. "I don't like leaving you alone like this."

"I'll be okay." Kara's voice shook as she spoke. "Alex will be back soon. I'll be fine."

Nia wanted to argue but Kara seemed so opposed to letting her stay that she relented, her shoulders slumping. "We're going to figure this out. We have to."

Kara nodded and watched as Nia walked out of her apartment. She didn't give Nia a chance to turn around before she closed the door behind her.

As soon as the latch clicked into place, Kara felt her knees weaken beneath her. She lowered herself to the floor, still clutching the door handle and finally let her tears flow, unhindered.

She wasn't ready. Alex wasn't ready. She still had so many things she needed to do. To make amends for.

-

Lena glanced up at the sound of a soft knock at her office door. Her brow furrowed for a moment before the door opened and Kara walked in.

Lena sighed and made a mental note to fire her new secretary. She got to her feet, closing her laptop. "Something I can help you with, Miss Danvers?"

"Sorry. I hope you don't mind me stopping by like this." Kara said as she walked toward Lena's desk.

A few months ago, Lena would have rushed to assure Kara that she could stop by whenever she wanted. That she always had time for the reporter. "I must admit, I am surprised to see you stop by _like this_." She gestured toward Kara's clothing. "I thought you were more partial to red and blue now."

"I didn't want to come over as Supergirl," Kara answered quietly. "I do need to ask you something though. For work."

"So that's why you're here." Lena was annoyed that she felt somewhat hurt by the revelation. She schooled her expression to not show it. "What is it I can help you with?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with something." Kara rested her hand on the back of the seat in front of her. She didn't want to sit down and she was sure Lena wouldn't appreciate the suggestion that she intended to stay for a prolonged time, but she needed to do something with her hands. "I was wondering if you know of anything that could make...something or someone disappear."

Lena stared at Kara for a long moment. "That's all? You don't have anything else for me to go off of?"

Kara nervously bit her lip. "It's um...like a red wave? And it wipes out everything in its path. Including people."

Lena briefly pursed her lips. "You're talking about anti-matter. Only a theory of course but...theoretically, anti-matter could destroy everything it comes into contact with. Without exception."

Kara's grip on the back of the chair tightened. "Is there any way to stop it? If it enters our universe?"

"There's no way that I know of." Lena frowned at the sound of a creak. "Supergirl, you're breaking my chair."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm so sorry." Kara quickly let go of the chair and stepped back. "I'll replace it. I'm sorry."

Lena nodded slowly, not entirely sure what to say. She was still furious with the Kryptonian. Still hurt beyond repair but something wasn't right. Kara could barely look at her. "Why did you need to know?"

"What?"

"About the anti-matter." Lena walked around her desk to sit on the edge of it. "Is something happening?"

"Maybe…" Kara replied faintly. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Sorry. I'm acting...weird, right? I'm just frazzled and it's been a long week. Sorry."

"Stop apologising."

"Right," Kara muttered, cursing her lack of focus. She almost regretted not coming in her suit. She could have used the confidence boost. She was silent for a minute, trying to think of what else to say. "Lena, listen. I'm really sorry. For everything."

Lena frowned. "I thought I told you t-"

"Stop apologising. I know." Kare interjected before Lena could finish. "I just needed you to know that I'm sorry. I'm never going to not be sorry for what I did to you. And our friendship. I betrayed you and everything our friendship stood for. I just hope that you'll be able to forgive me someday." She watched Lena look away and figured that was her cue to leave. She didn't want to push. She was surprised that Lena had allowed her to stay in her office for as long as she had. "I should be going. I'm…"

"You're keeping something from me," Lena interjected, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She noticed surprise flash across Kara's face. "You've lied to me enough that I know what it looks like now."

"I'm not lying to you. But there is something I need to tell you." Kara said reluctantly. "And I will. I just don't know how to say it yet. I don't know if I even want to say it. To you or anyone else."

"If that's the way you feel."

"I should go." Kara said quietly. She waited for an answering nod from Lena before she turned and walked back to the door she'd entered through. She paused with her hand on the door handle. "Lena?"

"Yes?"

"Me coming to see you is never just about work." Kara didn't look at Lena as she spoke. "I miss you."

Lena opened her mouth to reply but before she could say anything Kara was gone, shutting the door carefully behind her. Sighing, Lena pinched the bridge of her nose.

"A solution for anti-matter." She mumbled to herself, slowly lowering her hand. She glanced over her shoulder at her laptop. She'd been working non-stop for what felt like weeks, barely giving herself time to eat and sleep. She supposed a break to work on a new project wouldn't hurt.

TBC (probably - if you guys like it. Just experimenting here!) :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all of the reviews, they really mean a lot. Hope you all like this chapter! **

"Kara, can you check on the pizza?!"

"Sure!" Kara jumped up from the couch and jogged into the kitchen to check the pizza. She opened the oven, narrowing her eyes at the gently browning pizza. "Seems okay!" She shut the oven door and began to walk back to the couch, intending to continue to flick through the channels. She paused though, at the sound of a knock at the door.

She walked toward it and opened it. Her stomach did a peculiar flip when she found Lena standing there. "Lena. Um...hi."

"Kara," Lena replied in greeting as she glanced briefly past Kara.

Kara swallowed convulsively as she stepped out of the way to let Lena pass her. "Come in. I-I didn't expect to see you."

"Why would you?" Lena replied. She stopped a few feet into the apartment, sniffing the air. "You're cooking? Since when can you cook?"

Kara gave a nervous laugh and shut the door. "Hey, I can cook just fine!"

Lena smirked at the response. "I don't recall any of your culinary ventures ever being successful."

"Well I-I…" Kara spluttered for a moment before she reluctantly admitted defeat. "That's fair. But why cook when you can just order takeout? It's so much faster."

"I could give you an entire list of reasons. Not that you would listen."

Kara smiled warmly at Lena, forgetting to reply for a moment. She had missed this. Just being able to talk to Lena like this.

"Kara, the pizza!"

"Huh?" Kara's attention was drawn away at the sound of Alex's voice and she watched her sister hurry from the bedroom to the kitchen. "Oh no. It was fine five minutes ago!" She grimaced, watching as Alex opened the oven and frantically fanned the smoke away with a towel. "Guess we're ordering takeout?"

Lena pressed a hand to her mouth, disguising a laugh as a cough. Unfortunately, that cough was enough to draw Alex's attention toward her.

"Oh. I didn't know we had company." Alex straightened up, fumbling behind her back to turn the oven off. She was clearly as surprised to see Lena as Kara was, albeit more suspicious at the same time. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," Lena answered, turning her attention back to Kara. "I actually wanted to ask you some questions about our discussion the other day. About the antimatter. I have some ideas but I need to…"

"Ah!" Kara threw her arms up, effectively shocking Lena into silence. Her gaze flicked to Alex and she noticed her sister's brow furrowing. "That? That was nothing."

Lena frowned. "It sounded like something when you barged into my office."

"That was just…reporter stuff, you know? Nothing at all to worry about. Come on, Lena. I'll show you out." Kara took hold of Lena's elbow and escorted her to the door, trying to ignore the way Alex was staring at her. "I'll be right back, Alex!"

Lena pulled away from Kara's grip as soon as they were outside of the apartment. "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry!" Kara whisper yelled. She glanced at the door, worried that Alex might be listening. "Come with me. Please." She walked past Lena and walked down the hallway, only stopping when she was a safe distance away from the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she turned to see that Lena had followed her.

"Kara, what's going on?"

"Alex doesn't know anything about what I asked you." Kara's gaze kept flicking over to the door, checking to make sure they were still alone. "And I want to keep it that way right now. I want to keep this between the two of us."

Lena stared at Kara for a long moment before she let out a soft, bitter laugh. "A secret between the two of us? That's a foreign concept."

"Lena, please." Kara pleaded, her voice audibly trembling. "She can't know anything about this yet. It's complicated. But I really do need you to keep it a secret."

"And if I give you my word that I won't tell anyone you're just going to believe me?" Lena raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You trust me with this...secret?"

"Of course I trust you," Kara answered sincerely. She stepped closer to Lena, almost reaching out before she thought better of it. She let her hand drop to her side. "I'm not going to lie to you. You know I'm not telling you everything about what's happening. But I promise I will. When it's time."

Lena let out a breath, her gaze flicking to the side. "Come to my office tomorrow. I need to speak with you and clearly now isn't a good time."

"Right. I will." Kara tried to quell the hope that bloomed in her chest, to no avail. "Thank you, Lena."

"I haven't done anything yet." Lena pointed out, her lips turning up slightly before she walked past Kara, toward the door. "Don't be late!"

"I won't!" Kara called after Lena. She watched Lena leave before she headed back inside, her elation at the invitation to Lena's office causing her to completely forget about what had happened a few minutes ago in the apartment.

Upon entering her apartment she found Alex waiting for her, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Kara's smile slipped away. "Okay, you're mad."

"I'm definitely confused," Alex admitted, staring hard at her sister. "What was all that about?"

"Uh…" Kara hesitated at the question. She'd never been very good at lying to Alex. "Just something I wanted to work on with Lena. I figured maybe if she helps me look into this...thing for CatCo, maybe it would give us a chance to bond again and maybe she would see I really didn't mean to hurt her."

Alex's brow furrowed and for a moment Kara thought that her sister wasn't going to believe her. Finally, Alex's posture relaxed. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want her to take advantage of you again." She quickly continued, seeing Kara open her mouth to protest. "I know! I know she has every right to be angry with you but I can still be pissed at her for hurting you. You're my sister. I'd be furious with anyone for hurting you."

Kara breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Alex had believed her at least. She wasn't exactly lying. She did want to rebuild the closeness she'd once had with Lena, she just wasn't being completely honest with her sister. "I know. Thanks, Alex."

"The pizza is a lost cause by the way," Alex commented as she turned and made her way back to the kitchen. "We're going to have to order takeout again. I'll set the movie up while you do that because you're _definitely_ paying this time. And I'm demanding a hunger games marathon tonight."

Kara pouted at the demand that she pay for the food but she was quickly distracted by Alex's last sentence. "Wait, marathon? Aren't you meant to have a date with Kelly tonight?"

"Uh…" Alex paused briefly on her way to the couch. She sat down, grabbing the remote. "No."

"_Alex_."

Alex flicked through the list of movies on the screen, refusing to look at Kara. "Fine, I canceled."

"What?" Forgetting about ordering the food, Kara walked over to the couch and stood directly between Alex and the TV, forcing Alex to look at her. "_Alex_."

"Stop saying my name like that," Alex grumbled, reluctantly setting the remote down. "I'm worried about you, okay?"

Kara bristled, recalling Nia's constant pleading with her to say something to Alex. "Why? Did someone say something to you?"

"No. But you've been distracted lately." Alex took note of the relief that washed over Kara's face. "You're not focused on the job. It's like your mind is somewhere else entirely."

"I am not distracted!"

"You flew into a building yesterday, Kara!"

Kara grimaced. "I'm...well...that was...fine! I was distracted then but I'm not distracted now! I was just thinking about…"

"Lena?" Alex interjected knowingly. "Kara, I know you miss her but…"

"I don't want to talk about this." Kara quickly interrupted. She didn't want to get into her thoughts about Lena and she didn't want to lie to Alex more than she already was. "I'll try to focus, I promise. Now can we go back to talking about why you ditched your date to hang out with me?"

"I already told you. I was worried." Alex patted the seat next to her and Kara plopped down at her side. "Kelly understands."

"You could have at least invited her over for movie night."

"You'd be okay with that?" Alex turned more toward Kara, resting her arm along the back of the couch. "Me inviting her to our sister nights sometimes?"

Kara shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. You two are serious, aren't you? She's practically family to me too now. The more the merrier!"

Alex smiled warmly at the response and leaned forward to hug her sister. "Thanks, Kara. I know that would mean a lot to her."

-

"Come in," Lena called at the sound of a gentle knock at her office door. She distractedly straightened the already neat stack of papers in front of her and looked up when Kara entered the room, her hands and arms full.

"It's too much, right?" Kara grimaced at the shocked look on Lena's face. "I didn't know if you would have eaten lunch yet so I brought sushi and then I figured maybe you would want something sweet so I brought cronuts and cupcakes. I didn't know if you would want hot coffee or iced so I brought both."

Lena leaned back in her seat, reluctantly amused by Kara's rambling. "I'm not especially hungry but I never say no to coffee."

Kara brightened at the comment and she walked toward Lena's desk, unceremoniously setting everything down. She sat down opposite Lena, shuffling the chair as close as possible to the desk. "So you wanted to talk?"

Lena sipped at the coffee Kara had brought for her, noticing it was still piping hot. "I do need to ask you some things. But before we get into that, I was wondering if you'll tell me why you're keeping secrets from your sister? It seemed that the two of you told each other everything."

"I...you're right. We do, usually." Kara took her bright pink milkshake from the cup holder on the desk, mostly for something to do with her hands. "But if I tell her about this she's only going to worry. It's dangerous."

"I would have thought she'd be used to that by now," Lena commented, folding her arms atop her desk. "Being the sister of Supergirl and all."

Kara shrugged her shoulders in response. "I just don't want to worry her until I have to this time."

"But my question is, why is this time different to all of the other times?"

"I'm...um…"

Lena watched Kara nervously fidget. "So that's the part you're not telling me."

"It's not for the reason you think!" Kara said quickly, not wanting Lena to get the wrong idea. "It's just that I don't want to tell anyone until I'm sure. I'm still kind of processing it myself. Trying to anyway. But I will tell you. When I'm sure."

"It sounds important. Is it bad?"

Kara nodded grimly. "You could say that."

As Kara drank an unhealthy amount of her milkshake in one sip, Lena decided to stop pressing the issue. "I've been looking into the antimatter you asked me about. Or trying to, at least. As I said when you asked me, it's really only a theory."

Kara wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Do you know if there's any way to stop it?"

"Not yet." Lena reluctantly answered, trying not to show how much it irked her that she was having trouble figuring it out. "I've been looking into it but up until now I only have more questions."

"Okay. Can I help?"

Lena thought about that for a moment, hesitant to open herself up to working with Kara again. This was how it started. She knew that. Kara would worm her way back in with her goodness and sincerity and Lena's resolve to be angry would crumble.

"Lena?"

Lena shook her head, breaking herself from her thoughts. "There's far more matter than antimatter in the universe compared to say...moments after the Big Bang when matter and antimatter would have been at war with one another. Of course, matter won out in the end which is why now there's very little antimatter left in the universe today."

Kara nodded in response. "Yeah?"

"But we still encounter a small amount of antimatter every day." Lena continued, cupping her hands around her still warm coffee. "But that only accounts for single particles colliding which is why we never notice when they do collide." She paused, taking a sip from her coffee as she gathered her thoughts. "The only answer I have for you right now is that the scale of destruction that would be caused is entirely dependant upon the amount of antimatter in question. Which leads me to my question...how _much_ antimatter are you talking about?"

"A lot." Kara sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Larger than a city?"

"Bigger than the earth," Kara answered, shaking her head. She shuddered, recalling the wave which had consumed everything. Including herself. "Do you know if there's a way to stop it?"

"I'll keep looking," Lena replied, watching Kara closely. There was something off about her. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Thank you," Kara said gratefully. "Anything you find out could help. This really means a lot to me."

Lena bit back a harsh retort. It was instinct for her to want to lash out at Kara. The wound of betrayal was still fresh. So fresh that Lena wasn't sure it would ever heal.

"Lena, I'm...I think I'm…" Kara hesitated, taking a shuddering breath. "In this crisis, I'm supposed to…"

Lena watched with a furrowed brow as Kara struggled to speak. "Supposed to what?"

"Just…" Kara was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing and she jumped at the sound, scrambling to take her phone from her pocket. "Sorry, it's Alex. I have to take this."

Lena motioned for Kara to go ahead and leaned back in her seat.

"Hello? Yeah, it's fine...I'll be right there."

"Duty calls?" Lena asked as Kara quickly tucked her phone away and stood up.

"Sorry. Can we talk more tomorrow?" Kara asked hopefully as she whipped her glasses off.

Lena nodded as she watched Kara's suit appear. "That's fine. Stop by my office around the same time."

"Thanks, Lena. I have to go, I'm sorry…" Kara bit her lip, looking at Lena.

"What?" Lena looked down at herself, wondering what Kara was looking at.

"Nothing." Kara blushed. She could hardly tell Lena that instead of rushing off to a burning building she was busy thinking about how much she missed hugging Lena goodbye. "I'll see you later."

Before Lena could say anything Kara had fled the room, shooting up into the sky from the balcony. Sighing, Lena looked at the untouched food Kara had left on her desk. She supposed her employees would be happy, at least.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

"Block!"

Nia hissed as she lifted her arms, summoning energy around them just as the girl of steel's fist slamming into them. She knew they were only training and Kara's strength was reduced but each punch from Kara felt like a truck being thrown at her.

"You're getting better at blocking, Nia. That's great." Kara smiled weakly, rubbing her eyes softly. She hadn't been able to get much sleep thanks to the Monitor and what he'd shown her. The only way for the multiverse to survive was for Supergirl to die. She needed to make sure the world would be safe if she was gone. "Let's try a little sparring now."

Nia nodded slowly, her breath heavy. Something was different about Kara today but she couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe she hadn't gotten used to Kara's new Supersuit yet or maybe it was something else, she didn't know. "Okay."

Nia was almost instantly pushed back into a defensive position once more, barely blocking the onslaught of punches from the experienced hero. She knew training was supposed to be hard but she never expected Kara to be pushing so hard. She needed to take it seriously, forget Kara was her friend for the moment.

Nia closed her eyes for a brief moment before letting the rest of her dream energy explode out of her body, catching Supergirl off guard. She quickly took advantage of the mistake, punching towards Kara with everything she had. Kara was easily blocking it but to Nia's satisfaction, she could see the girl of steel was being pushed back.

Nia's flinched as Kara slammed her hands together, a shockwave erupting from the Super's hands with more than enough force to send Nia to the ground. "Damn."

"That was a good idea using your dream energy like that." Kara smiled softly, offering her hand towards her friend. It was clear just from that attack Nia used she was getting stronger and better with using her energy. "But you let out too much of it at once, not leaving enough behind to support yourself."

Nia nodded quickly. Even if Kara was being so much rougher with her than usual she knew she was only trying to make her stronger. "Okay."

Kara bounced back a short distance, getting ready to fight once more. "Good, then let's try something else."

"Like what?" Nia tilted her head in confusion, her eyes widening as Supergirl's eyes started to glow red. "Oh no."

Nia quickly put her hands forward in front of her, forging a wall of her dream energy to appear in front of her just as the heat vision beams fired. Kara had never used her heat vision during any of their previous sparring matches.

Nia took in a deep breath, forcing the wall of energy to fall onto the heat vision so her energy wrapped around it. She spun around quickly, moving the energy around with her before launching it back at Kara.

Kara smiled, easily dodging it with her super speed. She appeared to the side of Nia, throwing punch after punch. She couldn't help but be impressed by Nia's ability to adapt to her situation.

Kara's smile faded as the message the Monitor gave her echoed in her head. She saw many possible futures, more futures than she could count. She saw the people she cared for the most burn to smoke in the anti-matter wave. Alex, Nia, J'onn J'onzz and Lena all gone in the blink of an eye.

"Kara?" Nia hissed in pain as Supergirl's punches started to get stronger and stronger. "That's too much."

Kara continued to punch, Nia's words landing on deaf ears as she continued thinking about what she saw. She could remember in some futures it would be her and Alex being the last to get swallowed by the anti-matter wave, some futures it was Lena and some it was Nia. In some of the futures, it would be her, Oliver and Barry standing together at the end. Watching helplessly as the world crumbled around them.

"Kara!" Nia yelled, bearly having any time to block the oncoming punches. It was clear that Kara was lost in her own thoughts, completely oblivious to how much she was hurting her.

Kara quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she felt her hands being grabbed, stopped in place. She frowned in confusion, looking to the side to see an upset J'onn J'onzz standing next to her with his hand over her closed fist. "J'onn? What...what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! Kara, you almost tore Nia's arm off!" J'onn answered before turning his attention to Nia. He knew Kara would never normally hurt her friends but for the past few days, she had been acting differently.

Kara's eyes widened as she realized what she'd done. Nia walked away with J'onn, clutching her arm close to her chest.

"Nia...I-I'm so sorry." Kara apologized. She hadn't even realized she had started to punch harder than she should have. "I didn't mean to."

Nia shook her head as she glanced back at Kara. "It's fine, don't worry."

"Let's get you to the infirmary." J'onn shot Kara another confused look before he led Nia out of the training room.

Kara looked down at her trembling hands, wracked with guilt.

-

"So what you're saying is there's no way to stop the wave of antimatter?"

Lena watched as Kara paced back and forth in front of her desk, seemingly growing more aggravated by the second. "That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that _if_ there's a way I haven't found it yet. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to. It just takes time."

"Time isn't something we have right now," Kara muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "We're running out of time. Every second I try to put off the inevitable is even more time wasted. Maybe I shouldn't have asked you in the first place. I had no right to ask you to do this for me."

Lena stood up and walked around her desk to intercept Kara. The Kryptonian almost walked right into her and Lena grasped Kara's forearms, partly to ground the clearly upset hero but mostly to avoid being knocked over herself. "What's happened? If we're going to figure this out, we need to be level headed. Both of us. That means me putting aside my resentment for you...for the moment. But it also means that whatever is on your mind needs to be put aside for now too."

Kara swallowed thickly, locking eyes with Lena. "There's something I have to do, for the sake of everyone. And I'm having trouble coming to terms with it. I'm…" Kara briefly gritted her teeth, her eyes misting with tears. "I'm scared. Not for myself. For Alex, for my family and friends. I'm worried that what I'm going to do may cause harm later on. I'm trying to prepare them for what's going to come but...I lost control. I-I almost broke Nia's arm yesterday when we were sparring. It's like I forgot where I was. Who I was fighting. I don't know what I'm doing, Lena."

Lena let out a soft sigh and glanced toward the couch in her office. "Sit down." She lightly pushed Kara toward the chair and Kara went along, sitting down.

Lena sat down next to her, making sure to keep a distance between them. "If you want me to keep helping you, you have to tell me the whole truth. What do you know? You should know by now that I don't like being lied to."

Kara bowed her head, briefly biting her lip. She released it, resigning herself to what she needed to do. "There's this...god. He calls himself the Monitor. He showed me my future. A lot of futures...billions of possible outcomes for the coming crisis. Every one of them ends with everyone dying. Being caught up in antimatter. Alex, Nia, J'onn...you." She looked up, catching Lena's eye. "All of them but one. Something needs to happen for us to stop this crisis."

"You knew already and you didn't tell me?" Lena asked, frustrated by the news. Once again it seemed like Kara was trying to keep things from her. "Do you know how hard I've been working on thi-?" She was cut off as Kara reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. She paused for a moment, noticing the pain reflected in Kara's eyes. She felt a tug at her heart and cursed herself. She hated that Kara still had such an effect on her. "What is this solution?"

Kara briefly looked down at their hands, trying to put off having to say it for as long as possible. She brushed her thumb lightly over Lena's knuckles and looked up again. "Supergirl has to die. I have to."

Lena stared at Kara for a moment before recognition crossed her face. She unconsciously squeezed Kara's hand, tight enough that it would have hurt an ordinary human. Her chest felt suddenly tight like it too was being squeezed.

"I've been training Nia," Kara said softly, noticing that Lena was having trouble forming words. "To take over when I'm gone. I just don't know how to tell Alex. I didn't know what I would say to you."

Lena clenched her jaw, trying to compose herself. She realized she hadn't taken a breath since Kara's admission and she quickly inhaled. "Well, then it's a good thing you won't have to tell Alex anything." She stated after a moment. "Because you're not dying."

Kara's brow furrowed. "Lena, it's the only way. I've seen it."

"There has to be another way." Lena snapped, drawing her hand away from Kara's. She stood up, crossing to her desk. "What will the city do without Supergirl? There has to be some kind of loophole in this prophecy."

Kara got to her feet. "What kind of loophole?"

"Maybe you're meant to die briefly but we can bring you back," Lena answered off the top of her head. "I'm not sure."

"Lena, there's nothing left of me to bring back," Kara said gently, taking a step toward Lena. She faltered when Lena spun around to face her, a frown on her face. "I'll be erased by the antimatter."

"Well, then I'll find another way to keep you alive," Lena said again. She perched on the edge of her desk, not trusting her knees to continue holding her up.

Kara's brow furrowed slightly. "Why would you do that?"

Surprise flickered over Lena's face. She didn't attempt to answer the loaded question. She didn't even know the answer herself. At least not one that sat well with her. "Who else knows about this?"

"Nia. Because she saw it when I did. I needed to know for sure if the Monitor was telling me the truth." Kara answered softly. She watched Lena closely, trying to figure out what she was thinking. "I haven't told anyone. Besides you."

Lena stared at Kara for a moment before she sighed and looked away. "We'll think of something, Kara. You can't just give up. Isn't Supergirl supposed to be hope personified?"

Kara let a small smile tug at her lips at the question. "I try to be. I just don't see a way out of this."

Lena was silent for a long moment before she finally managed to speak up. "Tell me again about this Monitor and what he showed you. I want to know every little detail of what you saw. If we're going to have a chance to beat this I need to know everything."

\- 

"Alex?!" Kara landed hard on the balcony leading into the DEO HQ, barely giving the small crater she'd made a second thought before she rushed into the stone building. She was well aware that if Alex had used her Superwatch to get her attention it must have been serious. "Alex, are you here?!"

"Supergirl!" Alex exclaimed in relief as she rushed down the stairs to her younger sister. She walked past the red and blue superhero, taking her by the hand as she moved past. "We need your help."

"With what?" Kara tilted her head in confusion, following behind the Director of the DEO. She looked around as she walked, starting to get nervous as she noticed the Agents were gearing up like they were about to go to war. "What's going on?"

"These...things," Alex answered, clicking a button on the keyboard she stopped short of. The screens in front of her lit up with images of creatures with dark gray skin and huge, sharp teeth protruding outwards from their mouths. "These things have taken control of a building nearby with people inside. We asked J'onn what these are but he doesn't know."

"Hexorons." Kara's eyes narrowed in anger as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Like the Daxonites, the Hexorons were a race that lived on a planet near Krypton. She thought they all died when Krypton exploded, shards of her home planet destroying the smaller planet. "They should all be dead."

"Why are they taking over a building?" Alex frowned, turning to her sister. She was surprised Kara hadn't mentioned the race of aliens before.

"I don't know. But I'll stop it."

"Supergirl, wait for the strike…" Alex growled in irritation as the Kara flew away, leaving the DEO before she even had a chance to turn to face her sister. "...Team. Damn it."

Alex turned quickly towards the computer, tapping the button to the side of it for the intercom. "Strike Team Alpha and Bravo. Suit up!"

Kara ducked, slamming her palm into the alien's chest before jumping into the air and slamming her other fist down hard into the alien's head. She had to admit that with the Hexorons being from a planet near her homeworld it made them strong. Not as strong as she was but still strong.

She skidded under another of the aliens, yanking on its leg as she stood up and slammed her foot into another's chest. She spun around, throwing the alien she'd grabbed into a small group of Hexorons heading towards her. She could remember what her mother used to tell her about the Hexorons and how she should always stay away from them. Her mother had called them killers and thieves, and it looked like she was right.

Kara kicked hard against the door in front of her, sending it flying off its hinges into the group of Hexorons lying in wait on the other side. She turned quickly to the side, sucking in air as she did. With one quick blow of air she sent more than a dozen of the alien's into the far wall, knocking all of them out. She couldn't help but feel like something was strange about the Hexorons she was fighting. It was as if they were being instructed on where to stand and what to do, something she knew they hated doing. They may have been thieves and killers but they were proud thieves and killers.

She continued up the stairs, working her way towards the hostages while quickly clearing the floors in her way. She couldn't let anyone die. She refused. She sidestepped, her eyes narrowing in irritation as a claw tore through her cape and snapped as it hit her skin. She grabbed the alien that attacked, throwing it through the floor under her so it hit the pile she'd made on the floor below.

Kara quickly lifted her arms up, catching a chunk of the ceiling above as it fell toward her. Her eyes widened as she suddenly started to weaken, her arms aching under the weight of the ceiling as green lines appearing in her skin. She knew what it was immediately but she had no idea why or even how it was there. She barely had enough strength to keep the chunk of ceiling lifted above her. "Kr-Kryptonite…"

"That's right."

Kara looked up at the stranger's voice, her eyes narrowing in anger as she spotted the green glowing stone. A cloaked woman stood a few steps away from the struggling hero, a small green stone in her hand. She glanced behind the cloaked woman towards another woman behind her, this one with crimson hair tied back in a ponytail. "I don't know who you are or what you are doing but I will stop you."

The woman scoffed at Supergirl's warning, taking a step closer to the blonde. A crooked smile crept it's way onto her face as she rubbed the stone against Kara's cheek, the edge of the rock cutting the Kryptonian's skin. "It's amazing how a small stone can bring the girl of steel to her knees," Kara yelled in pain as the cloaked woman stamped onto the back of Kara's leg, forcing her to her knees. "Literally."

Kara looked up just in time to see the crimson-haired woman roll her eyes, stepping away and out of sight. She wasn't sure why but it looked as if the woman was also being affected by the kryptonite even though she knew the woman wasn't a Kryptonian. The only Kryptonians were her and Kal El.

She gasped as she felt the jagged green stone being pressed against her neck, piercing her skin slightly. With only a single tug of the woman's arm, she could easily slice Kara's neck open and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't believe she might be killed, not there or then. The monitor foretold her death in crisis, not in an office building.

"Supergirl, duck!"

Kara quickly lowered her head, surprised to see a bullet fly above her head into the cloaked woman's shoulder. She frowned as she felt the ceiling chunk get blasted into dust by dream energy before being caught by Nia. "N-Nia?"

"I'm here Ka...Supergirl. I'm here." Nia spoke with a soft smile on her face, slowly rising to her feet. She turned just as the cloaked woman stood up, blood dripping from her shoulder. "I could use some help here."

"Done."

Kara let out a breath of relief as Alex dashed in front of Nia and herself, punching the cloaked woman hard in the face with more than enough force to send the stranger off her feet. "Alex, watch out!"

Alex ducked, stepping to the side as the crimson-haired woman lunged towards her. She blocked the punch, throwing the woman over her onto the ground before pressing her pistol against the woman's head. "Stay down. It's your only warning."

"I can't do that!" The crimson woman answered, kicking Alex off her. She quickly rolled onto her hands, pushing herself back to her feet before turning her attention to Nia. With both Supergirl and Dreamer against her it was clear the fight wasn't going to go her way even if Kryptonite was affecting the hero still. "It's time to leave!"

"What?!" The cloaked woman stood up quickly, her voice strained with anger. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave when she had the Kryptonian in her grasp. It was only a Naltorian and a human, two species she could handle with ease. Supergirl could still barely stand. "Like hell we are!"

Nia turned quickly as she sensed something behind her, her eyes widening in horror when she spotted one of the Hexorons lunging at her with its teeth ready to bite into her. She flinched as a knife flew past her, impaling the mindless alien's forehead. It collapsed harmlessly to the floor. "Thanks Alex."

"That wasn't me." Alex let out a long sigh, turning towards where the two women were a moment ago. They had some kind of teleporter similar to the watch Lex used. She had no idea why the crimson-haired woman would save Nia but she was thankful for it at least, even if it left her with more questions than answers.

Kara hissed in pain as she stood on her own, taking a step forward towards her sister. "Alex I…"

"Save it, Kara." Alex turned quickly towards her sister after making sure there wasn't anyone around them to overhear. "We'll talk about this later. Nia, could you get her out of here while me and the Strike force deal with the hostages?"

"S-sure." Nia nodded quickly. She could easily tell that Alex was angry at her sister, angrier than she had ever seen her before though she understood why. If she and Alex were a minute later, Kara could have been seriously hurt or even worse. She knew that Supergirl was supposed to die in crisis but she knew better than most that time can be changed.

Alex stepped toward Kara, briefly inspecting her wound. When she was convinced that it was only superficial she let out a sigh and shook her head.

Kara swallowed thickly and averted her gaze, not wanting to see the disappointment in Alex's eyes. As Alex walked away Kara felt her knees buckle but before she could fall, gentle hands gripped her arms. "Nia?"

"Let's get you back to the DEO," Nia said softly, offering Kara a small smile. "It'll be okay. Alex will come around."

Kara nodded mutely and gratefully leaned on the shoulder Nia offered her. She watched Nia grimace slightly and quickly took some of her weight off of Nia. "I'm really sorry about your arm. I would never intentionally hurt you."

"I know. Don't worry about it." Nia answered reassuringly. "I'm more worried about you right now."

"I'm fine," Kara answered quickly.

Nia shook her head. She knew not to press the issue yet though and carefully led Kara out of the office.

-

It was freezing. That was Lena's first thought as she was dragged from her peaceful slumber back to consciousness. She gripped at her blankets, pulling them tighter around her so she wouldn't have to get out of bed. She'd had a late night as it was and she knew that if she let herself wake up any more than she already was, she would inevitably be up all night working.

"Lena Luthor."

Lena froze, her eyes shooting open at the sound of a voice coming from across the room. She froze for a couple of seconds, icy fear rushing down her spine before she pushed herself up in bed, looking around the room. She fumbled at the side of her bed, looking for the knife she kept tucked down the side.

"Don't." The warning came from across the room and Lena's eyes flitted to the corner. She vaguely noticed that her window was wide open, the curtains blowing in the breeze.

"What do you want?" Lena saw a flash of green as the person across the room shifted.

"To give you a warning."

The voice was unmistakenly female though Lena could tell that the voice was being disguised by something. "A warning about what?"

"Supergirl. Soon enough, Kara Danvers will be lost to you forever. Perhaps."

Lena swallowed thickly, her mind racing. Whoever this woman was, she knew that Kara was Supergirl. "Perhaps?"

"Perhaps not. Soon enough you'll have a choice to make. I came here to ask you to do what's right."

"What do you mean?" Lena moved to slide off the bed, taking her eyes off of the woman for a split second. As her feet touched the ground and she stood up, she saw that the woman was gone, leaving her alone in the room. "Damn it!"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Just a couple of things I want to clarify at the start of this chapter - no, there won't be a love triangle. Don't worry about that. I think with the introduction of the 'crimson haired woman' it might be a concern for you guys but don't worry, it's not gonna happen, though I do want Lena to have her own storyline too.  
Also the pronunciation of Hisa = Hee-sa. :)  
Enjoy!**

Lena let out a soft sigh as she subtly tugged up the sleeve of her blazer to check her watch. She'd only been waiting for her coffee for a couple of minutes but she wanted to get out of the coffee shop as soon as possible. She could feel everyone staring at her, their eyes burning holes into the back of her neck. She wasn't surprised. Most people in National City knew her by reputation if nothing else. Most of them knew her for her work and a few of them, she was sure, still simply knew her as the sister of Lex Luthor.

At the sound of her name being called, she looked up to see the impatient blonde woman behind the counter holding out her coffee to her. She took it, forcing a smile to her face and muttered her thanks before she turned around on her heel. She bumped into something solid and her already loose coffee lid popped off, the coffee from inside the cup splashing out between herself and the person she'd bumped into. She gasped as hot coffee spilled out onto her hand and her grip instinctively loosened.

Thankfully the person she'd bumped into reached out and took hold of the cup to make sure it didn't fall to the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you okay?"

Lena grimaced at the panicked tone of the woman she'd bumped into. "I'm fine. It seems most of it ended up on you." She stared at the coffee dripping from the woman's leather jacket for a moment before she glanced up to check who she'd actually bumped into. Her brow furrowed slightly as she took in worried green eyes and striking red hair.

"I'm sorry." The woman said again. She straightened up, taking Lena's coffee from her to set it down on the counter. "Were you burnt?"

"I'm okay," Lena answered with a slight shake of her head. She had to admit that she was a little bit irked but she wasn't about to snap at the woman. "Have we met somewhere before?"

"I don't think so. Oh, I'm Hisa. Hisa Evergreen." The woman said with a bright smile. She offered her hand out to Lena. "And I don't need to ask you who you are, of course."

Lena automatically shook the woman's hand, her brow furrowing. "My reputation precedes me then?"

Hisa gave a gentle chuckle. "You shouldn't be surprised. Almost everyone in the city has heard of you. I happen to be a big fan of you. Your work too, of course." She noticed Lena's gaze flick to her now mostly empty coffee cup on the table. "Shit! Let me buy you another coffee!"

"That's not necessa-"

"It's the least I can do." Hisa interrupted, waving off Lena's protests. "What are you drinking?"

"Black coffee," Lena answered with a small smile, figuring she wasn't going to win the argument. The two of them rejoined the short queue together, trying to ignore the distasteful look from the barista who'd been sent to clean up their mess. Silence settled between the two of them and Lena felt herself slowly growing uncomfortable. "So you clearly know about my work. What do you do?"

Hisa looked to Lena with a slight smile. "I'm a Lieutenant in the Canadian air force. Trauma surgeon. I'm not from here exactly. Just visiting."

"Oh, I see." Lena nodded thoughtfully. She'd thought she had detected an accent. "So your name is from…?"

"My father's side. His grandfather is half Japanese which makes me a quarter Japanese. I'm named after my great grandfather's mother." Hisa explained as she stepped forward. She turned her attention away from Lena for a moment to order her coffee.

Lena took the moment of distraction to look the red-headed woman over. Something about her was strikingly familiar but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. When Hisa finished ordering coffee, they stepped to the end of the bar.

"You seem to be far from home. If you don't mind me saying." Lena said, not wanting to let silence settle between them. Truthfully she was somewhat intrigued too.

Hisa chuckled softly. "Oh, I'm not sure where I'd even call home right now. I'm just..."

"HISA!"

Hisa grimaced at the sound of her name being called. "Crap…"

Lena frowned as a brunette appeared behind Hisa, grabbing her forearm to turn her around.

"What the hell are you doing?" The brunette hissed angrily, her gaze briefly flicking toward Lena before she looked back toward the redhead. "We have things to do and you're wasting your time in a goddamn coffee shop?! Why are you...dripping? Can you do anything right?"

"I can do what I want in my free time, Siobhan. I'm just…"

"What did I tell you about saying my name in public? Just hurry up! We wouldn't want your sister to wonder where you are, would we?" With that said, the brunette pushed Hisa's arm away, clearly making every attempt to inflict as much pain as possible without being too obvious about it, before she turned and stormed out of the cafe.

"I'm really sorry about that." Hisa said, staring after the brunette. "She can be a little...bossy."

"Your...friend? Girlfriend?" Lena asked, frowning in concern. She could see that Hisa's eyes had misted over slightly.

"I should go. Again, I'm sorry she caused a scene. It was nice meeting you, Lena."

"Wait!" Lena reached out and grabbed Hisa's hand as she started to walk away. When the redhead looked back at her in confusion, Lena felt a wave of regret. She'd said she wouldn't do this anymore. Not after Kara. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. She used her free hand to fish around in her back until she emerged with a business card which she quickly checked before pressing into Hisa's hand. "My personal number is on the back. You should call me if you're in any trouble."

"I appreciate that. But I'm fine. Have a nice day." Hisa drew her hand away from Lena before she rushed out of the shop.

Lena watched with a furrowed brow. She was sure she'd seen the brunette from earlier before. She just couldn't remember where.

"Miss! MISS, your coffee!"

Lena sighed and turned around, taking her coffee from the visibly annoyed barista. She bit back the urge to snap at her and nodded her thanks instead before she left the shop, her mind still fixed on her strange encounter.

-

"Is she okay?"

Kara turned her gaze to the door at the sound of Alex's voice and found her walking into the room, an irritated look on her face. She grimaced and started to push herself off the bed.

"She's better." Nia answered, nodding in response. "She seems stronger and she isn't showing any signs of being affected by the kryptonite now. I watched her for any, like you said."

"Good." Alex gripped Kara's shoulder and lightly pushed her back down onto the bed. "Because we need to talk and I don't want you flying away."

Kara sighed, throwing her arm over her eyes. "Alex, I don't have time for this. I have to get back to work and…"

"Oh really? Because I heard you haven't been to work in a week." Alex retorted sharply. "What the hell happened out there, Kara?"

"I did my job." Kara answered without moving her arm. She didn't want to look at Alex and see the anger and disappointment on her face. "Nobody died and nobody was hurt."

"Besides you, you mean. Because you did get hurt. _You_ nearly died, Kara! I gave you a direct order and you disobeyed me!"

"Disobeyed?" Kara pushed herself up, staring hard at Alex. "Are you talking as my boss or my sister right now?"

Nia swallowed thickly as she glanced between them. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen them in such a bad fight before and the last thing she wanted was to see it continue. "Kara, if you…"

"_Don't_!" Kara snapped, her eyes flitting toward Nia. "Please. Not yet."

"What's wrong with you?" Alex asked, genuine worry mixed in with her anger now. "You're acting reckless, you're ignoring my orders, you're not going to work, you're snapping at everyone. Not to mention what you almost did to Nia's arm a few days ago."

Nia guiltily bit her lip as Kara glanced toward her. "I didn't say anything about it, I think J'Onn…"

"J'Onn did the right thing by telling me." Alex interrupted with a frown. "I need to know if you're not safe."

Kara gritted her teeth at the insinuation. "You think she's not safe around me? It was an accident!"

Nia decided to step in, worried by the hurt look on Kara's face beneath the anger. "I don't think that's what she meant."

Alex held up her hand to stop Nia. "It's exactly what I meant. I think when you're like this you're a danger. Especially to yourself."

Kara's shoulders slumped and she bowed her head slightly. "I would never hurt any of you."

"Not intentionally." Alex softened ever so slightly and reached out to rest her hand on Kara's shoulder. "I'm worried about you, Kara. Just talk to me. If there's something wrong we can figure it out together. Like we always have."

"There's nothing to talk about." Kara shrugged Alex's hand off and got off the bed. "I have to go."

"Kara." Alex called as Kara walked away from her. She watched as Kara paused. "Take some time off."

"Is that an order?"

Alex sighed. She didn't want it to be like this. "Yes."

Kara scoffed and walked out of the room, heading down the hallway.

Nia sighed heavily and perched on the edge of the bed. She wished that Kara would just come to her senses and tell Alex what was going on. If anyone could help, it would be Alex.

"If I didn't know you could fly I might be worried."

Kara jerked in surprise, turning her head to see Lena walking across the roof toward her. "Lena!" She pressed her hand to her chest, taking a deep breath. "You scared me! How did you get up here?"

"I have my ways. I used to own this building, remember?"

"I didn't hear you come up." Kara murmured, frowning at the idea. Her super-hearing should have kicked in as soon as Lena got to the roof. Before that even. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Lena stopped next to the ledge and offered her hand to Kara, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to help me up?"

Still puzzled, Kara gently took Lena's hand and helped her up onto the edge, bracing herself for any sign that Lena was going to fall. She relaxed slightly only when she was sure that Lena was steady. "Did you do something to your hair? It looks a little...shorter."

Lena subconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave a slight shake of her head. "No. I didn't do anything." She lowered herself down until she could sit with her legs dangling over the edge of the building. "It's a long way down."

"Yeah." Kara murmured softly, glancing down at the city streets below them. She let out a soft breath before she sat down next to Lena. "Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you," Lena answered honestly. "Why else would I be standing on the roof of CatCo?"

"No, I mean..._why_ were you looking for me?" Kara asked in confusion. "I thought you still hated me." She noticed Lena flinch out of the corner of her eye and turned to frown at her. "I don't understand."

"Nothing is ever as simple as love and hate. I thought you of all people would realize that." Lena was silent for a long moment while Kara stared at her. She leaned forward, watching cars go by beneath her feet. "I saw what happened. On the news."

"Oh." Kara swallowed thickly, recalling her argument with Alex. "I…"

"You think that now you're destined to die, you're invincible." Lena's voice came out sharply but she still didn't look up at Kara. "You think that as long as this crisis you've seen isn't here yet, you'll survive anything. That's not how this works, Kara. You've been given knowledge of your future. You know what's to come but you could die tomorrow and create a new timeline. Maybe one you haven't seen yet. This isn't the time to be reckless. If anything you need to value your life now more than ever."

"What if I value my life too much?" Kara's voice was strained as she spoke and it drew Lena's gaze toward her. "What if I don't _want_ to die? I know it's selfish but I have a _life_. I'm not just Supergirl, Lena. I have friends, family...and I'm supposed to leave them behind? It's not fair! How am I supposed to tell Alex and my mom I'm..."

Lena's expression softened with sympathy as tears brimmed in Kara's eyes. Her grip on the edge of the wall tightened and she briefly glanced over her shoulder before letting out a soft sigh. "This doesn't mean I'm not angry with you. Or that we're friends again. When I see you tomorrow, we don't talk about this, okay? This never happened. Kara, I need you to promise me."

Kara nodded, her head bowed though she wasn't even sure what she was agreeing to. She didn't care. She saw movement from the corner of her eye and suddenly arms were wrapped around her, drawing her into a warm body. She turned instinctively, burying her face into the crook of Lena's neck as a sharp sob escaped her.

Lena sighed, gently stroking Kara's hair as tears brimmed in her own eyes. She stubbornly blinked them away and focused her attention on the building across the street instead.

"I don't know how to tell her, Lena." Kara whimpered, grasping the back of Lena's shirt. "I don't want to hurt her and i-if Alex knows, it's…"

"Real." Lena finished softly for Kara as the kryptonian trailed off. "It makes it real."

Kara nodded and slowly drew back to look at Lena. "How do I do it?"

Lena let her hand come to rest lightly on Kara's shoulders, her gaze fixated to the tracks of tears on Kara's cheeks. "I don't know, Kara." She said quietly, her expression pained. "This isn't something I have much expertise in, as you know. I'm sorry."

Kara closed her eyes for a brief moment before she seemed to steel herself and nodded. "I shouldn't be asking you. You're already helping me more than I deserve. Do you want me to take you home?"

Lena answered with a sad smile. "I can walk. I'll be okay."

Kara looked like she was going to argue for a moment before she nodded in response. "Alright."

Lena slowly shuffled her way off the ledge, aware of the way Kara tensed in case she fell. When she was back on her feet, she turned toward Kara, idly fidgeting with the ring hanging from the necklace around her neck. "You remember what you promised me? We don't talk about this tomorrow. Tonight never happened. I didn't sit with you on this roof, we didn't talk. None of it happened."

Kara frowned slightly in confusion. "I remember. But...why?"

"_Kara_."

"Okay, I-I promise." Kara answered hurriedly. The last thing she wanted was to make Lena angry. She stared at Lena's back as the brunette turned to walk away. "Are you sure you didn't do something to your hair?"

"I'm sure, Kara." Lena called back. She lifted her hand up in a slight wave without turning around. "I'll see you in my office tomorrow. Don't be late."

TBC 


	5. Chapter 5

**Bit of a longer chapter this time, guys. I hope you enjoy. Another reminder: there's going to be no love triangles in this. Don't worry. Bit of a reveal coming up in this chapter too so let me know what you think.  
Thanks for all of the likes/reblogs and messages. I appreciate it. :)  
**  
"What's wrong with you?"

Kara looked up sharply at the question, her eyes going wide at the question. Lena was staring at her stoically from across the desk. "W-What? What do you mean?"

"You're staring." Lena self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ears. She usually didn't wear it down at work and she was worried that doing so when she was with Kara somehow made it seem like this wasn't about work. That they were friends again. "Do I have something in my hair?"

"No, of course not." Kara laughed bashfully and adjusted her glasses. Truthfully she'd been staring because she'd been thinking about the previous night, on the roof. Lena had made her promise not to talk about it and that was a promise that Kara wasn't willing to break. Still, Kara couldn't shake the feeling that Lena somehow looked different today. Or the same. She had looked different last night. "You just...look nice today, that's all. Not that you don't look good every day you just look extra good today. Y-You know?"

"Right." Lena stared at Kara for a moment longer before she turned back to her research. "So you mentioned that you're swallowed by the wave of antimatter in your vision? Do you have any idea why that stops the wave from getting to anyone else?"

Kara's brow furrowed as she tried to recall the specifics of the visions she'd seen. "I don't know. I remember that I was flying. Fast. So fast I could feel myself burning. Like last time…" She closed her eyes, shuddering slightly at the memory of being burned from the inside out.

"Last time?" Lena echoed, leaning forward. "You've done this before?"

Kara nodded. "During a different crisis. I have a friend and he's just as fast...probably faster than me. We needed to rewind time to keep the world from being destroyed and we almost burned up."

Lena felt her heart sink at the thought and her eyes flicked toward the far wall as if Kara would be able to tell how she was feeling just by looking at her. "I didn't know about that. Not that I'm surprised by it. I've heard of Supergirl's heroics. Even witnessed them firsthand. Burning just seems a little…extreme."

The corners of Kara's lips twitched at the comment. "You don't know the half of it. But hey, if I've done it before I can do it again, right?"

Lena's gaze flicked back to Kara. She wasn't surprised by the comment, just caught off guard by the dark tone Kara's voice had taken on. "I get the impression that this time is different. You've never had to wait before making a sacrifice. It's always been in the spur of the moment."

"I guess you're right about that." Kara said softly. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm willing to do it. It's the right thing to do, isn't it?"

"From a utilitarian standpoint, sacrificing one for the many is always the morally right mo…" Lena trailed off, noticing the pained look on Kara's face. She awkwardly cleared her throat. Kara wasn't asking that. "You're having doubts?"

"Not doubts. I'm going to do it if that's what needs to be done.I would never let the world be destroyed. It's my home. I'm just worried about what will happen to it after I'm gone."

Lena couldn't deny that the thought of a world without Kara in it hurt but she refused to let it show. "What do you mean?"

Kara let out a sigh and looked down at the desk separating her from Lena. She hated that desk. She wanted nothing more than to hurl it out of the window and incinerate it with her heat vision. She wanted the warmth Lena had shown her last night but she knew that wasn't going to happen. "I worry about how Alex will deal with this. And whether I'm putting Nia in danger by training her to take my place. I'm worried that without me here, people will die when I could have saved them."

"That's a fair argument." Lena stood up and moved around the table until she could perch on the edge of it. "All the more reason for us to fight to keep you alive. We're going to figure this out, Kara. Nobody's going to die."

Kara smiled at the response, feeling her eyes prickle with tears. "I really wish I could hug you right now." She said before she could even think to filter herself. She watched surprise cross Lena's face, followed by sadness. It was brief before Lena's carefully constructed walls slid back into place but Kara definitely noticed it.

Lena awkwardly cleared her throat, trying to ignore the niggling desire to give into Kara's wish. "Are we going to talk about what happened yesterday?"

"Um...no? I thought we weren't supposed to talk about it?"

"What?" Lena frowned at the confusion on Kara's face. "I mean you almost getting yourself killed. I saw what happened on the news."

"Oh, I...no. I don't really want to get into it again. Don't worry, I'm not going to get myself killed." Kara huffed out a sigh. "I won't have much of a chance to anyway. Alex suspended me."

Lena raised an eyebrow at the claim. "Suspended you? She can do that?"

"From the DEO, yeah." Kara answered. "She's mad at me for being reckless. She's...not wrong. I have to apologise to her. I don't want her to be mad at me if we don't have much time left together."

"You should tell her." Lena advised quietly. She held up a hand as Kara opened her mouth to speak. "I know you're not going to. But I'm not going to stop saying it. Alex Danvers may not be one of my favourite people at the moment but I know her enough to know it would devastate her to find out later and not be able to help you through it. Or worse, to find out from someone else. Trust me, it' to be lied to by someone you love."

Kara swallowed thickly at the loaded comment. "She's always been my big sister. She's always protected me, even when I don't want it. For now, I can protect her."

"And yourself."

Kara closed her eyes. "And myself." She whispered, bowing her head. "I'm not proud of it, Lena. I can't be the girl of steel when it comes to the people I love. But I am willing to do what needs to be done."

"I know. I didn't mean it like that." Lena frowned as Kara glanced up at her, questioningly. "Nevermind. We're not getting anywhere like this. Is there a way you could show me what happened? If I could see it perhaps I could see something you didn't notice."

"Are you sure you want to see it?" Kara asked hesitantly. "Everything is destroyed, Lena. It's not easy to watch."

"For the most part, I'll be able to watch objectively. I don't have an emotional connection to anyone we may see in the vision." It was a lie and Lena knew it but she had to say something to sway Kara to her side. "It's been a week and I'm getting nowhere. All I have are theories and dead ends. I need to see."

Kara was silent for a few seconds, visibly struggling. "I'll speak to Kelly. I can't tell her the specifics obviously but maybe she can pull some strings and get us into her lab."

"Good." Lena said, relieved. "In the meantime, I'll keep looking for an answer with what I have."

"Yeah. Um...I should go. I have...training." Kara stood up, quickly gathering her things. "I'll see you tomorrow." She headed for the door but paused, just shy of leaving. "Lena?"

"Hmm?" Lena looked up.

Kara bit her lip. She wanted to ask if Lena had meant what she'd said before, about having no emotional connection to her. She couldn't bring herself to ask. She wasn't sure she was ready to hear the answer Lena would give her. Not yet. "I-I, uh...take care."

Lena let out a soft sigh as Kara left the room. Her feelings toward Kara were torn but they were still present. She just didn't want to admit it, even to herself.

-  
"Kara!" Alex exclaimed in surprise as she opened the door to find Kara nervously standing there. She was both shocked and relieved to see her. After their argument the previous night she had thought Kara would be avoiding her. "I didn't expect to see you tonight. Do you want to come in?"

"I'm actually not here for you." Kara replied sheepishly. She slid her hands into her coat pockets. "Is Kelly here?"

"Yeah, I'll get her…" Alex glanced over her shoulder. "Kelly?!" She turned back to Kara who was nervously biting her lip. "Hey, Kara. I'm…" She trailed off as Kelly appeared at her side.

"Hey, Kara." Kelly said with a smile. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's...I'm fine. I just need to ask you a favor. A really huge favor." Kara said, her stomach in knots at the thought that Kelly might say no. As reluctant as Kara was for Lena to see what she'd seen, she wanted to do what Lena had asked of her. "I don't want you to think that I'm just asking you because you're my sister's girlfriend. I consider you my friend too. Not that I would ever jeopardize your job for that reason either, I just…"

"Okay, slow down, Kara." Kelly said with a small sigh. She placed her hand lightly on Kara's shoulders. "What's this about jeopardizing my job? What's going on? Actually, you should come i-"

"I was hoping that I could use your lab." Kara blurted out, earning herself a confused look from Kelly. "For...a personal thing. It's really important to me and I need to...well I need to show someone something from my memory. Something really private. I was hoping you could show me the ropes and then leave me to it, maybe? I know it's a lot to ask."

"I could make it happen." Kelly said after a long moment. "But I would need to stay with you to supervise. You won't be able to do that yourself."

"It's...it's really private."

"Oh. _Oh_, right. I see." Kelly awkwardly cleared her throat. "Well um…"

"It's not like that!" Kara said quickly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "It's not a _sex_ thing, just...it's private."

"If it's that important to you I could come with you." Alex volunteered hopefully. She looked to Kelly. "If that would be okay?"

Kelly was just about to nod when Kara interrupted. "No, no. It can't be you."

"So it is a sex thing." Alex raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

"I'm not seeing anyone, it's just..._private_." Kara stumbled over her words. She hated lying to Alex but it had to be done. "Can I get Nia to help?"

"Well...if you want to." Kelly glanced between Alex and Kara. She had no idea what was happening but she was sure she didn't want to be in the middle of it.

"Thank you. I really owe you for this." Kara said, relief washing over her. "Is Friday okay?"

Kelly nodded in response. "I'll check my schedule but Friday's are usually free."

"Thank you, I really owe you for this. I should be going. Have a good night." Kara offered a small smile before she turned and walked away from the apartment. She heard the door close behind her but what followed was the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Kara!"

Kara stopped at the sound of Alex's voice. "I don't want to fight, Alex."

"I don't want to either." Alex lightly touched Kara's arm as she walked around her so that she was standing in front of her. "But I'd rather that then have you keep avoiding me."

"I haven't…" Kara trailed off, her protests dying in her throat. She had been avoiding Alex. "I'm sorry." She guiltily looked away. She didn't trust herself to meet Alex's eyes and not blurt the truth out. "I'm sorry for avoiding you and for what happened the other day. I shouldn't have said those things to you. It was out of line. I was just angry."

Alex gave Kara's arm a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry too. I may have overreacted a bit. You know how I can be when it comes to your safety. It's the most important thing to m-" She was cut off as Kara surged forward, hugging her tightly. Surprised, she hugged Kara back. "I'm worried about you, Kara."

"And I appreciate it." Kara mumled into Alex's shoulder. "I'll try to be more careful. But I'm always going to do what has to be done. You have to know that."

Alex let out a soft sigh. "I suppose I can't ask for much more, can I?" She slowly pulled back, looking into Kara's watery blue eyes. "Hold on, I'll head home with you. I'll even buy you dinner on the way."

"What about Kelly?"

"She was just heading home anyway. She said she has work." Alex answered. She gripped Kara's hand, giving it a light squeeze. "Wait for me."

Kara nodded solemnly and watched as Alex walked away. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. As selfish as she felt to drag Alex away from Kelly, she was relieved too. All she wanted was to stay as close to Alex as she could, for as long as she possibly could.

-

Nia breathed heavily as she punched forward, swinging her leg around before slamming her knee into the area she was imagining Supergirl standing. She wasn't imagining Kara for any malicious reason, the opposite in fact. Kara was the person she looked up to the most but with the crisis coming for them she had to use the girl of steel as the target for her training, running through each of their previous training sessions in hope that she could find a way to improve.

She closed her eyes, paying no mind to the beads of sweat running down her forehead and onto her tank top as she remembered the latest training session she'd had with Kara. Though it was the session when Kara had almost torn her arm from her socket, it was the training session she'd needed the most. It showed that she still had a long way to go. She ducked, stepping back in an attempt to dodge one of Supergirl's punches but flinched as she felt herself hit into her apartment's couch. Despite pushing all the furniture to the edges of the room she still hardly had any room to train but she had to admit it was better than the other options. From Alex arguing with Kara to Kara arguing with Lena she was starting to run out of places to train.

"I could use a break." Nia muttered to herself before she removed her obsidian lenses. She checked her watch, her eyes widening as she realised she had been training for more than four hours in the small apartment with only a single break two hours ago. She let out a long sigh as she plonked backwards onto the soft couch, sighing at how soft it was. She wasn't sure if it was because of how tired she had been recently or the training but she felt like she could sink into the couch.

She opened her eyes sharply at the familiar feeling of her dream ability activating. She barely had time to react to where she was before explosions echoed around her. She looked to be inside of a park in National City but the ground was scorched, craters in the ground surrounded by fire. She knew she was dreaming thanks to the strange feeling of heaviness all around her body but she hoped to any god listening it wasn't a possible future. It looked as if nothing was alive.

"Mommy…"

"No..." Nia turned quickly at the sound of a meek cry and her heart sank as she saw a little girl walking down the desolate screet, tears running down her face as she struggled to continue walking. Her knees were scraped and bleeding and her skin was covered in dirt.

Nia knew what was about to happen before it did but she still cried out as a group of strange creatures lurking in the shadows lunged towards the defenceless girl, their menacing claws ready to stab into her. She watched, frozen in shock. She knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything. She never could. Movement caught her attention and she looked up sharply in time to see a woman fly down, landing with enough force to almost knock the girl from her feet. Slowly, the dark haired woman straightened up. "Lena…?"

Nia's eyes darted over Lena, taking in light green skin tight clothing she was wearing. It was the ring Lena was wearing on her finger, radiating energy that really caught Nia's eye though.

The green suited Lena blocked the first two creature's attacks with a green energy shield emanating from the ring before she slammed her foot into the third creature with more than enough force to knock it into the ground, forming another crater. She turned as more creatures suddenly started to appear from what looked to be everywhere, two green energy blades appearing in her hands.

Nia watched in both awe and horror as the green suited Lean tore through the creature's bodies with the daggers. Her suit was quickly coated with their blood but she paid no mind, continuing to fight as hard as she could to defend the child. Each time a creature came slightly close to the little girl, Lena would destroy them without a second thought before turning her attention to the next. Nia wouldn't have believed that person was even Lena if she wasn't seeing it with her own eyes.

"In...brightest day…"

Nia flinched as Lena started to speak, forced to create a dome around herself and the small child as the army of creatures piled onto her. Nia could see that the green energy dome was starting to crack. "No, you have to run…"

"In the...blackest night…" Lena collapsed to one knee but continued to speak through gritted teeth, holding her arm with the ring on with her other hand as her eyes started to glow green. "No...evil shall escape my sight. Let...those who worship evil's...might…"

Nia's eyes widened as she looked up from the green suited Lena towards the end of the street, looking for any help coming. Surely Kara was on her way. Instead she found the Monitor she'd met back in Kara's apartment standing nearby. It struck Nia that he was looking right at her with a small smile on his face. She'd thought nothing could see her when she was dreaming.

"Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!" The green suited Lena yelled before an explosion of green energy erupted from her, blasting away all of the creatures just as Nia started to feel weak. She knew that her dream was about to end. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the green suited Lena flying away with the girl in her arms.

"AGH!" Nia jumped up off the couch, instantly getting into a fighting stance as she looked around. As far as she could tell she was back in her apartment with no-one else around. She slowly relaxed, lowered her arms back to her side though her mind was racing. What had she seen and was that really Lena Luthor? Where was Supergirl? Was that the future? She needed to get her head straight before her roommate returned. There was only one person who could answer her questions though she knew it wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

-  
"...so I figured it would be better to use a stabilized energy factorisation approach to keep the loss of energy at a minimum. That way we're one step closer to a real, unlimited source of energy."

"Mmhm." Hisa hummed, nodding in response to Lena's rambling. She swallowed her food, setting aside the takeaway carton she'd been shovelling noodles into her mouth from. "Lena. I want to be straight with you."

Lena blinked at Hisa in confusion. She leaned forward on the couch and set her fork down. "What is it?"

"I'm an alien." Hisa replied, her gaze unwavering. "I just...want you to know that before we can become...friends? I know some people still don't like the idea of aliens living amongst them which is why I try to keep quiet about it. For my sake and my family's. Not that it's done me a lot of good.."

"Oh." Lena was taken aback by the frank information. "Why tell me if it's a secret?"

"I don't know. There's something about you that I trust. I want to be honest with you, as much as possible." She watched Lena for a moment, noticing the way the dark haired woman looked away. "And I've freaked you out. My sister always tells me I move too fast. This is exactly why I'm single. They don't call me U-haul Hisa for no reason."

Lena couldn't help but laugh at that and she turned her attention back to Hisa. "It's fine, don't worry. I was just thinking about someone...something else. So you mentioned a U-haul? I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

Hisa smirked, relieved by the response but she quickly turned serious again. "So are we good?"

Lena nodded her response. "It's not easy to gain my trust. And I'm not looking to make friends."

"Then why am I here?"

Lena frowned slightly at that. She clearly hadn't been thinking straight when she'd spontaneously called the woman she'd met in the coffee shop. She supposed it was a moment of weakness, where she'd given into the niggling loneliness she'd been feeling since her falling out with Kara.

"Don't worry, I get it." Hisa said with a small smile. "Either way, I'm still glad I text you my number. Maybe you'll change your mind."

"I won't."

"A girl can hope."

Lena shook her head slightly, trying to ignore the sting the words caused her. She remembered when Kara had thought the same thing. She'd destroyed her walls with all the power of the girl of steel and had wormed her way into Lena's heart. Clearing her throat, Lena reached for the glass of wine in front of her and took a sip, her food long forgotten. "So do you have family around here?" She asked, trying to take the attention away from herself. "Or are you staying alone?"

"My brother and sister live in the city." Hisa replied softly, looking down at her hands. "My brother does anyway. My sister is...it's complicated."

"Right. That woman you were with mentioned your sister, didn't she?" Lena asked thoughtfully. "Your girlfriend?"

Hisa gave a soft laugh and shook her head. "Nothing like that. You could say she has me on retainer right now."

"You work for her?"

"Uh...sure. Let's go with that." Hisa wasn't surprised to see a questioning look on Lena's face when she looked up. "The people I'm working for aren't good people. I suppose that makes me just as bad."

Lena stared at Hisa, confused by the admission. She wasn't sure anyone had ever been so open with her, and with no reason at all. They barely knew each other yet Hisa was speaking to her like they'd been friends for years.

"Got anything stronger than that wi-?" Hisa was cut off by a smash as something charged through Lena's closed balcony door, sending glass flying toward them. She jumped up instinctively as Lena let out a startled yell.

"What the hell is that?" Lena got up quickly, staring wide eyed at the alien in front of her. It was at least seven feet tall and was snarling mindlessly at them as it charged for them.

"Not the time." Hisa growled, holding her hand out. She focused her energy, focusing on her need for a weapon. Within a second a crimson energy dagger started forming in her hand. Not fast enough. She pushed Lena back with her free hand only to catch a blow to the head from the towering beast. The force sent her to the ground, pain pulsing through her jaw. Looking up she saw Lena backing away, her eyes darting left and right as she searched for anything she could use as a weapon.

Spitting out blood, Hisa scrambled to her feet and rushed the Hexeron, tackling it from the side and sending them both sprawling to the floor. She lifted her right hand and plunged the dagger into the alien's chest with a yell of anger. The alien let out a pained cry and it's fists hit out at Hisa as she lifted the knife again, plunging it into the alien's neck repeatedly as she tried to keep from being thrown off of it.

When it was finally still, Hisa was breathing heavily, her lip bleeding from being caught in the face again.

"Hisa!"

Hisa looked up sharply, her heart sinking when she found that during her struggle the door had been kicked in and more of the disfigured aliens were pouring into the room.

"Get to the balcony. RUN!" She ordered, struggling her way to her feet. As Lena headed for the balcony, Hisa threw the dagger at one of the oncoming aliens, hitting it square in the forehead before she turned and sprinted after Lena.

"What now?" Lena asked urgently, looking over Hisa's shoulder.

"You're not gonna like it." Hisa flashed a bloody smile before she pulled Lena close to her with an arm around her waist. With strength that caught Lena off guard, Hisa vaulted them both over the railing of the balcony and they plummeted toward the ground.

Lena gasped at the feeling of falling and hung on as tightly as she could, closing her eyes tightly. She expected to hit the ground hard but instead she landed on something soft, bouncing her upwards while she kept clutching Hisa. She opened her eyes, looking down at what seemed to be a trampoline beneath them. It seemed to be made out of some kind of red energy.

"Hold on." Hisa warned before they hit the bouncy surface again. This time she landed closer to the edge and they hopped off, landing on the ground on their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Lena watched as the 'trampoline' seemed to dissolve in front of her eyes.

"My po…" Hisa eyes flicked to the sky as a blur of red and blue shot by overhead. "Shit."

"Supergirl is here." Lena said, relief seeping into her voice.

"I have to go. I'm sorry." Hisa pulled away regretfully. "I'll call you. I'm so sorry, Lena." She turned away without another word and took off down the street.

Lena watched Hisa go in confusion. She stepped forward, intending to follow but she was stopped short as Supergirl landed in front of her.

"Lena, you're alright!" Kara surged forward, hugging Lena tightly. "I saw all of the blood and I couldn't find you."

"I'm fine, Kara." Lena said meekly, her arms hanging limply at her sides despite how much she wanted to hug Kara back. She felt like she couldn't move. "I'm okay."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Kara quickly pulled away, putting some distance between them. "We're not...hugging anymore. Right. Are you hurt?"

Lena managed a small smile as Kara looked her over. "I hope you're not using your x-ray vision."

"W-What? No! I wouldn't." Kara felt her face warm at the insinuation but she relaxed when Lena let out a soft chuckle. "Are you sure you're okay? There was a lot of blood."

"It wasn't mine." Lena answered softly. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm okay, just a little shaken up. You'd think I'd be used to being attacked by now, huh?"

"No, of course not." Kara watched as Lena trembled in front of her. "Alex will be here soon to deal with all of this. Are you sure you're…"

"I'm okay." Lena interrupted.

"Right. Is there anything I can...do?"

Lena looked away, biting her lip. She could hear sirens in the distance, slowly getting closer. "Maybe." She muttered.

"What? Tell me. I'll do anything."

"This doesn't mean we're friends." Lena steeled herself before she walked toward Kara. She saw the blonde's eyes widen before she wrapped her arms around Kara's waist and hugged her fiercely.

"Oh." Kara was shocked into stillness for a few seconds before she managed to gather herself and hugged Lena back. She inhaled slowly, closing her eyes as she basked in the embrace. She wasn't sure why it was happening but she wasn't about to complain. "Let me take you home."

"I am home." Lena's voice was slightly muffled by Kara's hair.

"My home." Kara replied in a whisper. "Just for the night, I promise. And before you say anything, I know this doesn't mean we're friends. But you can't stay here."

Lena opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it again. Slowly, she leaned back. "Take me home then, Supergirl."

Kara blinked at Lena, puzzled by the comment. Lena didn't sound as angry as she usually did when she called her that. She nodded and carefully scooped Lena into her arms before she shot up into the sky, heading for her apartment. She tried not to let herself hope but she couldn't help but focus on the way Lena's arms wrapped around Kara's neck. Not tightly, like she was afraid. Loosely, like she trusted Kara not to drop her.

When they landed in the apartment, Kara gently set Lena down on her feet. "Um...I'm just going to change out of this. I'll be right back. Help yourself to anything you need, of course."

"Thanks." Lena said softly. "I just need to make a quick call."

Kara nodded before she turned on her heel and used her speed to run to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She leaned back against it, closing her eyes. She hadn't expected this of tonight. Lena Luthor in her apartmant. Like they were friends again. Only they weren't. Lena still hated her and they were only forced together because Kara was going to die and now Lena had been attacked.

"You can do this," Kara muttered to herself, shaking her head. "It's just Lena. Get it together, Danvers." She stood up straight and took a deep breath before she walked to her dresser to change into some sweats and a loose t-shirt. She carefully placed her glasses on her face before she headed for the door again.

She paused, finding Lena looking at a picture in her living room. Panic jolted through her as she wondered if she'd left the picture of the two of them lying around. She certainly looked at it enough but she didn't want Lena to think she was being creepy. "Lena?"

"Sorry, I wasn't prying." Lena said politely as she looked up, her green eyes coming to rest on Kara. She held up the photo she'd been looking at. "More superfriends?"

"Oh." Kara let out a soft laugh when she saw the photo Lena was holding up. She remembered Alex taking that picture after Barry and Iris's wedding. She and Barry had managed to hug Oliver from either side and he was grinning despite himself in the picture. "Yeah. You haven't met them, it's...a really long story."

"Hmm." Lena put down the picture, her gaze flicking to another picture of Alex and Kara together. "I should...probably sleep."

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Kara said quickly. "You can take my bed. There's a change of sheets in my closet if you need them. I'm going to be up, keeping an eye on things."

"Thanks." Lena said softly, forcing a small smile to her lips. "Goodnight, Kara."

"Goodnight." Kara echoed as Lena brushed past her into the bedroom. The door was pushed to the frame but not closed completely and Kara closed her eyes, listening to the rustle of sheets as Lena crawled into bed.

-

A light knock on the door drew Lena's attention away from her work for a moment. "Miss Nal. I don't believe we had an appointment."

"We didn't. I'm sorry for showing up like this. Uh...I think your receptionist went home for the day. She left a note on her desk." Nia said nervously as she stepped into the office.

"What?" Lena's expression flickered with annoyance at the new information but she seemed to quickly shake it off. "I really need to find better staff. Anyway, how can I help you?"

Nia stopped in front of Lena's desk, nervously wringing her hands. "I have something to ask you. You know who I am, don't you? You know what I can do?"

"Of course." Lena replied with a nod. She waited for Nia to continue but when the silence continued, Lena raised an eyebrow. "Was that your question?"

"No. No, it wasn't." Nia took a deep breath and steeled herself. "I had a dream about you and I don't know what it means."

"I'm listening."

"Right. I had a dream about you. The future, maybe. You were wearing a suit, like...mine and Kara's. It was green." Nia watched Lena for a moment, noticing her beginning to frown. "And you had some kind of green crystal ring. I was wondering if you have access to anyth-"

"Any kryptonite. You're asking me if I have access to kryptonite." Lena concluded, slowly getting to her feet. Her jaw was clenched with anger but her eyes gave away her hurt. "You really think that I'm going to make a weapon to kill Supergirl? I'm trying to save her life!"

"No. I mean...I hadn't thought about that." Nia said quickly, her heart sinking at the thought. Kara hadn't been there in her vision. "Are you?"

Lena closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself. "No, I'm not. Now please see yourself out, I have work to do."

"Lena, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry, it's just...Kara wasn't there in my dream and I know you're not a bad person but Kara says you can't forgive her after what she did. I…"

"That doesn't mean I would KILL HER!" Lena slammed her hand down on her desk, causing Nia to flinch. "It's bad enough that I apparently can't be trusted with the truth. Now you come into my office to make senseless accusations?!"

"It isn't like that, I didn't-"

"Leave." Lena interrupted, staring at Nia long and hard. "Get out of my office before I call security."

Nia's shoulders slumped as Lena turned away from her. "I-I'm sorry, Lena."

Lena waited until Nia had left before she let herself relax. She took a shuddering breath, blinking away tears. It was always going to be like this. They would never trust her, no matter her intentions or how much good she did. They would always see her as just another Luthor.

TBC 


	6. Chapter 6

**Couple of notes before this chapter starts: As always, thanks for all of the comments/reviews/messages etc. I really appreciate them.  
For what is quickly becoming a constant disclaimer: No love triangles in this. It may also seem like I take the focus away from Kara and toward Lena this chapter but as mentioned, I just feel like Lena deserves more focus at the minute. The OC storylines do also tie directly into Lena's, of course.  
Anyway, hope you enjoy! :)**

Nia tapped her foot nervously against the floor as the seconds ticked endlessly by. She'd gotten to Obsidian North far too early and much to her surprise she'd found Lena already in the waiting area. They'd yet to say a word to each other and Lena had only briefly glanced up when Nia had made her way over to sit next to her.

Finally, Nia cleared her throat. "Lena, about what I said…"

"No." Lena interrupted firmly. "We're not doing that."

"Right." Nia swallowed nervously. She fell silent for a moment, glancing toward the door in hopes that she'd see Kara coming through it. "It's just that I don't want you to get the wrong idea about what I was asking. I wasn't accusing you of anything."

"It didn't seem like that from where I was standing." Lena replied coldly. "I believe you mentioned a kryptonite ring?"

"I didn't say a kryptonite ring, I said it was a green ring...which looked like kryptonite." Nia turned in her seat to face Lena. "I don't know what it was I saw. That's what I'm trying to find out. I was only asking you if you knew anything about i-"

"You asked me if I was making a weapon to _kill_ Supergirl!" Lena whisper yelled, trying not to draw attention to them. "That sounds a lot like an accusation t-"

"I'm here! I'm so sorry I'm late. I got here as fast as I could!"

Lena looked up to see Kara standing there, looking windswept and out of breath. "I take it you flew here...on a bus?"

Kara grimaced. "Not one of my finest moments. Here, I brought your coffee, just the way you like it."

Lena looked down at the coffee that was held out to her and stared at it for a moment before she gave a slight shake of her head. "I just had a cup. Let's get this over with, shall we? Kelly said we could go up when we're ready."

"Okay, I…" Kara trailed off as Lena turned on her heel and walked away. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. After Lena had stayed over at her apartment a couple of nights ago, Kara was hoping that Lena's anger toward her was starting to ease. "I thought things were getting better between us."

Nia plucked the coffee from Kara's hand as they started walking and took a long sip, "She's angry with me. I may have...said some things to her and there were some misunderstandings and...well we can talk about it later. She waited for you, you know."

"What?"

"I've been here half an hour. She's been here longer." Nia explained quietly as they walked. "She could have gone to the room with Kelly whenever she wanted but she didn't. She waited until you got here. Maybe things are getting better between the two of you. It just takes some time."

"Thanks, Nia."

"Not that I'm saying that justifies the fact that you told Lena instead of telling Alex." Nia said, earning herself a pointed look from Kara. "I know I'm not supposed to talk about it but you really _really _need to tell her, Kara."

"I think we may have found something we agree on." Lena knocked on Kelly's door and turned to face Kara. "You'll need support."

"I have you and Nia." Kara said meekly. "I-I'm building myself up to it, okay? I'm going to tell her just not right now. We should know for sure first, right? Lena still thinks there's a chance we could find a way around it. Don't you?"

Lena didn't have time to answer before Kelly opened the door and gestured for them to enter.

"We don't have much time before Andrea gets back." Kelly said as she closed the door behind them. "An hour at most but you can have the room until then. I'll show you what to do with everything."

Nia nodded and followed Kelly across the room, leaving Kara and Lena behind.

"So...how have you been?" Kara asked awkwardly. "I haven't seen you for the past few days. I was worried when you cancelled our meeting the other day."

"I didn't see any need for us to meet before today. I can't do anything with the information I have at the moment." Lena replied. There was a beat of silence before she spoke again. "How have you been?"

"Good. Fine." Kara answered with a small smile. "You know how it is."

Lena nodded though she was sure that wasn't true. "Has Nia spoken to you about the dream she had?"

"What dream?"

"We're all set here." Kelly interrupted them before Lena had a chance to respond. "If you both take a seat I'll get things started and then I'll wait outside in case you need me for anything."

"Thanks, Kelly." Kara said grateful as she crossed the room to the seat Kelly had indicated to her. "I know this isn't exactly a normal thing for me to ask of you but I really appreciate it."

"Anything for Alex's little sister." Kelly said with a small smile as she moved towards the door leading out the room. She glanced back around for a moment before leaving. She had no doubt that Nia could navigate Kar and Lena through the memories but she couldn't help wonder what was so important that Kara couldn't just tell Lena verbally.

Nia waited for the door to close before turning her attention to the two other people in the room. "Ready when you are."

Kara nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as she readied herself for what she was about to see. If she was right, she should see everything the monitor showed her and Nia last time. "I'm ready. Lena?"

"Let's do it.'" Lena took a deep breath, unsure what she was about to see. From what Kara had said it sounded like hell.

"Okay." Nia turned to the computer at her side, pressing the button Kelly had told her to press once they were ready. "Three, Two, One. Activate the lenses now."

Lena leaned back against the chair before activating the Obsidian lenses, not surprised to see the world around her fade away into whiteness with only Kara staying. The world around her looked like nothing more than a void with emptiness in every direction she looked. "This is creepy."

"Can you hear me?"

"We can hear you, Nia!" Kara yelled. She experimentally jumped, landing on the nothingness at her feet again. She glanced around, frowning slightly as nothing appeared. She thought the memories would have started to appear right away. "So how do I start the memory?"

"You need to think about it as hard as you can. Once it appears you won't need to concentrate as much but you'll lose connection with me." Nia's voice exclaimed, echoing around them like she was in all directions. "I'll keep monitoring your bodies in the real world to make sure you're both okay."

"Okay! Thanks Nia." Kara replied. She turned to Lena and offered her hand, lowering her voice slightly as if that would keep Nia from hearing her. "Just to make sure we don't get separated."

"I don't think that's possible when we're in your memories." Lena pointed out. She relented at the disappointed look on Kara's face, placing her hand into the blonde's. Warm fingers closed around her own. "Just to be safe."

Kara smiled softly at the response and closed her eyes, thinking back to everything she saw thanks to the monitor. All of the timelines where everyone she knew were vaporised by the anti-matter, flames burning the world she called her home. Again.

Lena flinched as she suddenly started to see Kara's memories around her. She watched in horror as different timelines played out in front of her, hiding her fear behind a stoic facade so Kara wouldn't realise. She had hoped Kara might have been mistaken about what she saw but that wasn't the case. She watched more than ten timelines where the entire universe was swallowed by a thick crimson wave. She had even seen herself vanish into nothingness before her eyes, a sight she thought would have troubled her much more than it actually did.

Kara opened her eyes, not surprised to see the timelines she had already seen before playing out once more but something felt different this time. She wasn't sure if it was because Lena was with her or if they were using a different method to see the coming crisis but something left strange. She turned to the only other person there, surprised to see a stoic expression on Lena's face. She had thought that Lena might have been troubled by what she was seeing. "Lena?"

"One moment." Lena squeezed Kara's hand. As far as she could tell the wave always came from the same direction in the universe, destroying planets like Mars and Jupiter before it reached Earth.

She saw her own death again, saw Kara desperately flying toward her, tears tracking their way down her cheeks as she tried to get to Lena before the crimson wave engulfed both of them. Lena in turn reached back, her hope of trying to find a way to stop the wave given up on. Their fingers barely brushed before the wave engulfed them again.

Kara turned around sharply, a cold shiver creeping up her spine as she sensed something. She wasn't sure what it was and she was sure she didn't feel it the last time they viewed the timelines but something scared her. Feeling Lena's hand leave her own she turned around, hoping for the reassurance of seeing Lena still standing with her in the memory. She flinched, barely having time to process that Lena wasn't there anymore before a pale towering man in strange armour similar to the Monitor's lunged at her, his hand covering her face before everything went black.

"You saw all this all last time, right?" Lena inquired as she turned around. Her heart plummeted when she found no trace of the Kryptonian. She'd realized that Kara had let go of her hands a few seconds ago but she hadn't thought anything of it. "Kara? KARA?!"

Nia jumped, bouncing up off her seat as Kara's body suddenly started to thrash around in the chair. There'd been no movement from her for at least 10 minutes. She'd seemed perfectly calm a second ago. Nia surged forward, noticing blood trailing from Kara's nose. "KELLY, HELP! I need help here!"

Kelly rushed back into the room she was guarding, gasping in shock as she spotted Nia barely able to hold Kara down. "What happened?!"

"I don't know! She was fine just a moment ago then she just started seizing!" Nia exclaimed in panic, trying as best she could to hold Kara down. She shuddered as she glanced up, unnerved by the sight of blood on her face. Kryptonians weren't meant to bleed. Kara was invincible. "What do we do?!"

"We need to wake the-" Kelly froze, trailing off as Nia suddenly pulled her back, a beam of heat flying out of Kara's eyes as she continued to thrash. She gasped, ducking low to avoid the heat vision. "Kara is Supergirl?!"

"SHH!" Nia turned quickly towards Kelly in panic, trying her best to hold Kara in place. It felt like she was trying to hold down a group of ten men all by herself. "You need to wake them up, we'll talk about this later."

Kelly nodded quickly and moved to the computer. She pushed aside the many questions she had, shoving the chair out of the way of the computer before she quickly shut down the system. She jumped as Lena suddenly sat up, gasping for air before deactivating the lenses. The moment the system was powered down Kara stopped thrashing, her arm slumping down by her side.

"What are you doing? It wasn't finished!" Lena exclaimed in annoyance. Seeing Kelly's wide eyed stare, she looked toward Kara and gasped at the sight of blood on her face. "What happened to her?!"

"I-I don't know." Nia slowly lifted herself up off of Kara. "She started seizing in the middle of the session."

"Move." Lena lightly pushed Nia back as she got up from her seat. "She shouldn't be bleeding. This isn't right. Kara?" she gently placed her hand on Kara's cheek. "Kara, can you hear me?"

There was a beat of silence as the three conscious women held their breath before Kara groaned, her brow furrowing. "What happened…?" She mumbled, lifting her hand to her head.

Lena let out a sigh of relief and moved a couple of steps away to let Nia take her place at Kara's side. Her knees trembled beneath her. "She's okay."

"How do you feel?" Nia gently helped Kara into a sitting position.

"I'm okay. I think." Kara replied, her eyes shifting briefly toward Lena. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us." Nia answered, taking the box of tissues Kelly offered her. "You started seizing and then you were bleeding."

"I was?" Kara's brow furrowed as Nia gently dabbed at her face with the tissue. When it came away red with blood, she blinked in surprise. "Weird. I don't remember. Lena?"

Lena stiffened as three pairs of eyes turned to her. "You were there one second and then you disappeared. After that I was pulled out. I think I saw most of what I needed to see though."

"Good." Kara wiped at her nose with the tissue Nia gave her.

"Um, Kara…" Nia nodded toward the hole in the wall opposite. "You used your powers when you were under."

Kara stared at Nia for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh. _Oh_. Kelly, I'm so sorry about your office. I'll fix it, I swear. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, it's just...it's a dangerous secret. Please don't be mad at Alex."

"It's okay. I do think we need to tell Alex about what happened though."

"Agreed." Nia piped up, shooting Kara a meaningful look.

"Kelly." Lena spoke before the three could start bickering. "Um...bathroom?"

"Down the hall on the left." Kelly pointed toward the door and Lena nodded, heading in that direction.

Kara watched Lena grasp the doorframe briefly on her way out of the room. "I'll be right back." She said, getting up.

"Kara." Nia warned.

"I'll be right back." Kara repeated herself before she hurried after Lena. She was relieved that she wasn't feeling any aftereffects at least. She found Lena standing a few feet down the hall near the wall, stooped over with her hands on her knees. "Lena?"

Lena looked up, surprised to see Kara walking toward her. "I'm fine."

"Alright." Kara stopped next to Lena and reached out to gently rest a hand against her back. She listened as Lena let out a hitched breath. "Did you see it?"

Lena nodded. "I saw you die in every scenario. The only difference was the timeline where you died first."

"Everybody else lived."

"I'm not giving up." Lena's voice was firm when she spoke this time, her voice a far cry from the stuttery mumble it had been a moment ago. She straightened up, locking eyes with Kara. "I won't give up until I'm forced to."

Kara offered a small smile. "I know. Thank you, Lena. For everything you're doing for me. Everything you've done. I wish there was some way I could…"

"Come on, Kara." Nia interrupted as she walked down the hallway. "We're going to the DEO to have Alex check you over. You're outvoted, two to one."

"I suppose that's your cue." Lena murmured as Kara sighed in defeat. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah? I mean yeah! Of course you'll see me later. I'll be there. As soon as you want me to be." Kara offered a wave as Nia nudged her toward the stairs.

Lena rubbed her neck, grimacing in pain as she made her way down the hallway to her apartment. She'd been working since early that afternoon, having spent most of the morning with Kara. Her experience that morning, coupled with the overwhelming workload of that afternoon had her more tense than she thought possible. She assumed that was the reason she let out a startled scream when she turned the corner to find someone sitting outside of her apartment door.

"It's just me!" Hisa quickly scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide in alarm. She held up her hands to show Lena she meant no harm. "I kind of broke into the building but I figured it would be rude to just go into your apartment uninvited."

Lena let out a breath, slowly relaxing. "So you figured you would sit out here in the dark hallway and give me a heart attack when I arrived?"

"Well...no. Okay, maybe it wasn't the best idea." Hisa paused as Lena walked to the door, unlocking it. "I wanted to apologise for what I did."

"Okay." Lena entered her apartment, expecting Hisa to follow her. "Which part? The part where you threw me over the balcony or the part where you left me alone in the middle of the street in my _pyjamas_?"

"All of the above?" Hisa gripped the doorframe of Lena's apartment. "Can I come in?"

Seeing Lena beckon her inside, Hisa quickly entered, closing the door behind her. "In my defense, I threw myself over the balcony too. And I wouldn't have left you if you hadn't been safe. I knew that Supergirl was there to deal with those aliens."

"So you know what they are." Lena moved away from the door, having slipped off her shoes and coat. "Why did you run away?"

"Supergirl isn't my favourite person." Hisa answered honestly as she followed Lena. "And honestly, I don't think I would be hers."

Lena stopped and turned back to Hisa, her brow furrowing when she noticed her bruised eye. "What happened to your eye?"

"Oh, just from that night." Hisa answered, unconsciously touching her eye.

"No, it's not." Lena frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You didn't have that when we got away from those aliens. What happened?"

"I didn't say it was the aliens. My boss...the woman you thought was my girlfriend, wasn't happy with me when I got back home. She's staying with me at the minute. Kind of. I was meant to be doing something for her and I guess I just got sidetracked. It was my own fault."

"It was your own fault that she hit you? Of course it isn't. Are you okay?"

Hisa shrugged her shoulders. "I can take a beating."

Lena stared at Hisa for a moment, noticing her slumped shoulders and downcast eyes. "Do you want a drink?"

Hisa managed a small smile as she looked back up. "I would love one."

Lena nodded and headed for the kitchen to pour them both a glass of wine. "In exchange I want you to tell me what you know about those aliens who attacked me. You obviously know what they are."

Hisa lifted herself up onto a stool with a slight wince. "I don't know what they are. Only that they're aliens and I only know that because they look all alien-like, you know? So I guess really what I'm doing is assuming they're aliens."

"What did Supergirl do to you to make you dislike her?"

"Nothing." Hisa took the wine Lena offered her with a mumbled thanks. "I don't really want to talk about it. The two of you seemed pretty cozy though."

"I'm sorry?"

"I stuck around for a few minutes to make sure you were okay." Hisa smiled apologetically. "You seem to know Supergirl pretty well. You know with the...hugging?"

"I don't know her that well." Lena said softly, her gaze flicking away from Hisa's. She took a sip of her wine. "Where are you from? You didn't tell me."

"I'm from Earth. I was born here." Hisa smirked at the confused look on Lena's face. "My mother lived on a planet near Krypton before war broke out there and she had to flee. My dad was a human, who she met on earth. Technically I'm only half alien."

"Was?" Lena echoed. She noticed a flicker of pain cross Hisa's face and instantly wished she hadn't asked. "Sorry, that's far too personal. I suppose I'm just naturally inquisitive."

"It's okay." Hisa answered softly, forcing a small smile to her lips. "He's dead. He died when I was young. An accident." She cleared her throat.

"And your mother?" Lena asked softly.

"In a care facility. After my dad, my mom met someone else. He wasn't a good guy and now she's...well…" Hisa paused for a moment, struggling to speak. "She got sick and he didn't want to deal with her."

"We don't have to talk about it." Lena reached out, placing her hand lightly atop Hisa's. "Listen, why don't you stay here tonight?"

Hisa blinked at Lena. "Seriously? Even after I ditched you?"

Lena scoffed. "I'm not a monster. I made you talk about something you obviously don't like reliving and now you're upset so I don't want to send you back to your _actual_ monster of a boss. Assuming that's where you'd be going."

"Guilty." Hisa replied with a small smile. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I'm sure." Lena drained her glass and set it down on the counter. "Come on, I'll show you to the guest room."

-

"I got shots!"

Alex looked up, raising an eyebrow as Kara walked over to the table with a tray in her hands. "What happened to a 'couple' of drinks?"

"Come on, Alex. Lighten up. You need to have fun. Right, Kelly?"

"Right." Kelly smiled and lightly nudged Alex's side. "You deserve to let loose a little."

"You know I'm right." Kara sat down next to Nia, opposite Alex and Kelly. "We can't spend all our time working. Who knows how much more time we have to spend like this...before we're too busy."

Nia cleared her throat and when Kara looked at her she raised her eyebrows.

"What's going on with the two of you?" Alex asked curiously as Kara shook her head. "You're acting secretive. Is there something we should know?"

"You worry too much." Kara handed Alex her drink. "Drink up."

"You're not drinking?" Kelly asked as she took the shot Kara offered her.

"Oh, uh...I don't drink much." Kara answered with a sheepish smile. "I'm a bit of a lightweight. Just ask Alex."

"It'd be less than an hour before she was dancing on the tables." Alex said in agreement with Kara. "And this place is nice. We don't want to be barred on our first visit."

Kara picked up her orange juice and held it up. "To friends. May we always keep each other going, no matter what."

"To friends." Alex, Nia and Kelly echoed, clinking their shot glasses against Kara's pint glass.

Nia quickly took her shot, grimacing slightly at the taste before she leaned into Kara. "Kara, you're gonna have to say something."

"Not yet I don't."

"She already suspects something is wrong." Nia whispered. "How long can you keep this up?"

"As long as I have to."

"But I…"

"Seriously, what is going on with you two?" Alex's question drew the attention of Kara and Lena. There was a hard edge of irritation to her voice and Kelly placed a soothing hand on her girlfriend's arm. "You've been acting weird for weeks. Is there something you need to share?"

Kara straightened up suddenly, looking around the bar. "I hear Lena."

Alex let out a heavy sigh. "You always hear Lena. Can we focus?"

"No seriously, I hear her." Kara said with a frown, holding her hand up. She would recognize that laugh anywhere. She leaned out of the booth they were sitting in, her eyes darting around the room in search of Lena. "Oh…"

"Oh?" Alex turned around too, her brow furrowed in confusion until she saw where Kara was looking. "What the hell?"

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding." Kara said hastily as she watched Lena laugh at something the redhead with her was saying. "We don't have the full story."

"Well let's go and get it." Alex stood up only for Kara to grab her wrist and tug her back. "Kara, you can't be serious. Open your eyes, we can't just ignore that she's sitting there with someone who tried to kill you!"

"She's not trying to kill me." Kara insisted quietly. "I know she's not."

"Then it's not going to be a problem if I ask her how she knows our friend over there. At the very least we need to deal with her." Alex tugged her wrist free from Kara's grip and headed toward the table Lena was sitting at.

"Crap, crap, crap…" Kara muttered under her breath as she scrambled to follow her sister. This was just going to make things between herself and Lena so much more strained but she knew that Alex was right. They couldn't ignore the woman who'd tried to kill her.

"So what did your other Aunt do? She must have been just as pissed about you inviting your new girlfriend to live with you."

"Aunt Amelia was pissed. My other aunt just went out to buy more milk."

Lena almost choked on her sip of the cocktail she was drinking. "You're kidding! MORE?"

"It's kind of her thing in un…" Hisa trailed off as Alex stopped at the table. "Uncomfortable situations. Shit."

As Hisa made to stand up, Alex grabbed her wrist to keep her where she was. "I wouldn't if I were you."

Lena looked up in surprise. "Alex? What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Alex replied, her gaze still fixed on Hisa. "Do you know who this is?"

"Of course I do." Lena replied, bristling at the accusation. Her gaze flicked toward Kara before settling back on Alex. "Would you mind unhanding her?"

"It's fine, Lena."

"It's not fine." Lena glared daggers at the side of Alex's head but it went unnoticed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm arresting a criminal." Alex answered calmly. "She tried to kill Supergirl last week."

"What?" Lena looked taken aback by that and she looked to Hisa for an explanation. "Did you?"

"Kind of." Hisa grimaced slightly at the tightness of the grip of Alex's fingers around her wrist.

"Why?"

"My boss is holding a grudge against Supergirl. Lena, if I don't do what she says she's gonna kill Itsuki."

Kara cleared her throat. "Who's Itsuki?"

"Her sister." Lena answered softly. "That's why you're still working for her after she did this?" She gestured to Hisa's black eye. "Because she has your sister somewhere. You could have told me, I could have helped you."

"I didn't want you in danger because of me. Looks like that backfired." Hisa closed her fingers into a fist, staring at Alex's hand. "I can't be arrested."

"You can and you are." Alex disagreed irritably. "You tried to kill someone, what did you think would happen?"

"You should know that I could snap your wrist before you even think about getting your cuffs out." Hisa growled, rising slightly from her chair.

"Hisa, stop it." Lena stood up too, her gaze fixed on Hisa. "That's not the way."

Hisa briefly looked toward Lena, her expression troubled before she nodded her head in agreement.

"If you're being blackmailed we can help you." Kara said, trying to calm the situation before it got out of hand. "You just need to tell us who you're working for. We'll do everything we can to get your sister back for you."

Hisa stared at Kara for a moment before she looked at Lena. "Do you trust them, Lena?"

Lena felt her heart sink at the question. She used to trust them. She had trusted Kara more than anyone else. She struggled with herself for a moment, weighing up Kara's lies with how much Kara and Supergirl had done for her. Supergirl - _Kara_ \- had defended her and protected her on so many occasions and yet she still hadn't been able to give Lena the truth.

"I trust her." Lena said softly. She cleared her throat and looked toward Kara, repeating herself. Firmer this time. "I trust her."

"Thank you." Kara whispered, her chest tight.

"I'll come with you willingly." Hisa sat back down to show that she wasn't going to attack. "And I'll tell you whatever it is you need to know. But I need a guarantee that you'll help my sister. She's innocent in all of this."

"You have my word." Alex hesitated for a moment before she slowly released Hisa's wrist. She glanced to her right, making eye contact with Nia. She nodded toward the doorway, silently asking Nia to follow her. "I'll let you deal with this while I take...Hisa, was it? Back to the DEO."

"Got it." Kara answered with a nod. She moved out of the way to let the redhead and Alex pass.

"Lena." Hisa lightly touched Lena's arm on the way past. When Lena's eyes met her own, she continued sincerely. "Nothing I've told you is a lie, I swear."

Lena was silent as Hisa was led away. With a sigh, she finally sank back down into her seat. "She's not a bad person. She saved my life when I was attacked. She doesn't deserve to be arrested."

"Lena, she had kryptonite. She almost killed me."

"So did I!" Lena exclaimed. She gritted her teeth at Kara's confused expression. It was like Kara was ignoring the obvious. "The kryptonite canons? If I hadn't stopped them they would have killed you."

"But you did stop them. And you weren't the one who aimed them at me in the first place." Kara sat down next to Lena, taking her hand. "You're not evil. I know you're not."

"What's going to happen to Hisa? Will she be released tonight? I don't want her to have to go back to her boss."

"She'll be questioned by Alex and she'll probably spend at least the night in a cell at the DEO." Kara replied, gently squeezing the hand in her own, "After that I guess Alex will turn her over to the police."

"What?!" Lena recoiled as though Kara had slapped her. "You said you'd help her."

"We said we would help her save her sister." Kara said slowly, confused by Lena's sudden anger. "She still committed a crime. She damaged property, she hurt people. It's not up to us to decide whether she's guilty or not."

"Like hell." Lena growled, getting to her feet. "That's exactly what you're doing by handing her over to the police. She's not a criminal, Kara."

Kara quickly glanced around to make sure that nobody was listening in. "How do you know that? We have no idea who she is. How do you know she even has a sister?"

"Because I know." Lena insisted firmly. "She's my friend and I…" She hesitated, briefly clenching her jaw. "I trust her. She's been nothing but honest with me since I met her. She's no more evil than I am."

"That isn't for either of us to decide. Let's talk about this outside, okay?" Kara stood up and brushed her fingers against Lena's arm only to be irritably shrugged off. Sighing, she followed Lena quickly from the bar into the cool night air. "Listen, Lena. She needs to be held accountable for her actions."

"Why is that your decision?!" Lena stepped forward, irritation etched across her face. "Why do you get to choose who's guilty and who's not? Who can be trusted and who can't?"

"That's not what this is about. This is my job. I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice. You can choose not to see things in black and white for a change. You can choose to listen to what she has to say." Lena pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead, struggling with herself before she made up her mind. She moved closer to Kara, her hand moving to lightly grip Kara's at her side. "You can choose to trust me, if nothing else. Even if you don't want to trust her, trust _me."_

"Lena, I…" Kara paused, her voice giving out on her. Her palm tingled with the light pressure of Lena's hand. "I do trust you. But I can't just let her go. You know I can't do that."

"Then I suppose that makes both of us liars." Lena wrenched her hand from Kara's.

"Wait, Lena. You have to understand, I…" Kara trailed off as Lena turned and walked away from her without another word. With an annoyed growl, she lashed out, the side of her fist colliding with the wall next to her. She cursed as the stone crumbled. "Crap, crap, crap…"

Making a mental note to pay for the repair, she quickly turned and hurried away. Caught up in her worried thoughts she didn't notice the woman watching her in concern from the corner of the street.

-

"I brought you breakfast...Hisa, right?"

Hisa glanced up at the entrance to her cell and raised an eyebrow when she saw Dreamer standing in front of her. "Am I getting specialist treatment for being an informant? I thought I'd be referred to as Prisoner and have to eat mystery meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"We only serve the mystery meat on Thursdays," Nia joked. She was met with a blank stare. "You saved my life, didn't you?"

Hisa shrugged her shoulders. "I plead the fifth. Why are you here anyway? Where's the guy who was walking up and down the hallway earlier?"

"Oh, I dismissed him. I wanted to speak to you. And give you breakfast, obviously."

"I'll pass on both. I'm not in a very talkative mood. Unless you want to tell me that the director's planning to let me go soon. In that case, I'll listen to you all you want."

"I can't promise that." Nia glanced anxiously up and down the hallway. Technically she wasn't meant to be speaking to the prisoner but she wanted to be sure before she approached Kara with her suspicions. The last thing Kara needed was more stress. "You used kryptonite on Supergirl when you fought her."

"My asshole boss used kryptonite on Supergirl when she fought her." Hisa corrected with a sigh. "I can't even touch the stuff. Bad reactions."

"What kind of reactions?" Nia asked curiously. She was aware that Alex had managed to find out that the woman in front of her was an alien and that she was being blackmailed.

"Bad rashes. Really itchy."

Nia frowned at the dry response. "Why did you save me?"

"You're real insistent, huh?" Hisa asked with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not in the business of letting innocent people die."

"Dreamer! Uh...Miss Dreamer?"

"Dreamer is fine." Nia looked up to see the dark haired DEO agent she'd spoken to earlier walking down the hallway toward her. "Is everything okay?"

"Is this yours?"

"Wha…?!" Nia trailed off as something was shoved under her nose. She instinctively inhaled as she went to take a step back only for her head to spin. Black seeped into her vision and she reached out, trying to grab onto anything nearby. "What did you...do to…?"

The agent quickly caught Nia before she could fall and he lifted her easily into her arms. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble for this." He swiped the card for Hisa's cell and waited for her to leave the cell before carefully putting Nia down. "I'm sorry. So, _so_ sorry."

"Raven!" Hisa hissed, glancing up and down the hallway. "Stop apologising and get out here. We need to go."

Raven reluctantly left the cell, locking it again. "She should be okay. I just knocked her out. Come on, let's go."

"How did you disable the security?" Hisa whispered as she followed close behind him. She stopped as he held up his hand.

"I 'accidentally' spilled coffee on the console. Nobody suspected it was intentional." Raven answered. "Hold your hair up."

He waited until Hisa did as she was asked before he took off his DEO issue cap and put it on her head. He shrugged off his jacket too and handed it to her. "Let's move fast."

Hisa nodded and took a deep breath. She kept her head down as she quickly followed him through the main room of the DEO. She didn't dare look up, too worried that she would find Alex staring right at her. Finally they emerged outside through the fire escape and Hisa took a relieved breath.

"You have to go. It won't be long until they notice."

"What? You're coming with me."

"I'm not, I have to stay here."

"Why?! You've been made, there's no point in you not coming with me. I can't help Itsuki by myself. Don't be an idiot!"

"You can and you will." Raven insisted, lightly pushing her away. "Hurry. I can at least keep them off your track if I stay here."

Hisa gritted her teeth. "I'm coming back for you."

"I know that." Raven grinned as she turned and began to walk down the steps. "Hisa? Give the bastards who kidnapped our sister hell, alright?"

Hisa didn't have time to answer before Raven ducked back into the building. "Looks like I have a Green Lantern to find…"

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

"Director Danvers, we have a situation."

Alex faltered on her way into the DEO, startled by three agents heading toward her. "What's going on?"

"A meteor crash in the Pacific." The agent in the middle said hurriedly as Alex walked past him. He hastened to follow, looking down at the tablet he was clutching. "We've detected high energy levels emanating from the crash site."

Alex sighed in response. Her day just seemed to keep getting worse. "Put together a team and let me know when you have eyes on the situation. I'll be interrogating our new prisoner."

"Yes, Director."

Alex continued on her way, moving quickly down the hallway with her teeth clenched. She didn't know how she'd managed to lose a prisoner, how she'd employed yet another traitor but she was going to get to the bottom of it.

She let herself into the next room, letting the door swing closed behind her. Walking past the mostly vacated cells she came to a stop in front of an occupied cell. "Let me get this straight. You not only willingly released a prisoner, you then locked yourself up right after?"

Raven looked up in surprise, his brow furrowing at the sight of the director standing in front of his cell. "I knew there was no point in running. Besides, I wanted to stay behind to plead my sister's case. She couldn't stay to argue for herself."

"That's who Hisa is to you? Your sister?"

"Yes."

Alex stared at the dark-haired man long and hard for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief. "And why couldn't she stay to argue her case for herself?"

"She has to save our younger sister, Itsuki." Raven stood up from the hard bed he'd been sitting on and paced across the cell. "She's not one of the bad guys. We just want to protect our family. You have a sister, don't you? You should understand."

"Are you threatening me?" Alex stepped close to the barrier separating the two of them, anger flickering in her eyes.

"Of course not." Raven backed away, raising his hands in surrender. "I just want you to understand why we're doing what we're doing. We're not intentionally working against you."

Alex watched him closely for any sign that he wasn't being sincere but found none. "Where did your sister get kryptonite?"

"She doesn't have kryptonite. She didn't even know the woman she works for had it until they fought Supergirl and Dreamer….speaking of which, can you tell Dreamer I'm sorry about knocking her out? I tried to make it as painless as possible." Raven sank down onto the bed once more, figuring it wouldn't be a good idea to get too close to Alex.

Alex ignored him. "Who is Hisa working for?"

"A woman who has it out for Supergirl. She calls herself Banshee." Raven paused, noticing a flicker of recognition cross Alex's face. "You know her?"

"You could say that." Alex rubbed the back of her neck. She couldn't help but wonder what else could possibly go wrong today. They already had so many issues to contend with. "How is she linked to Lena Luthor?"

"Lena Luthor?" It was Raven's turn to sound confused. "She's not. My sister knows both of them, that's the only connection there. Banshee is the person who's holding Itsuki and that's why Hisa is working for her. It's not what you think though, she's also working with someone else to take Banshee down."

"Lena?"

Raven shrugged his shoulders. "She hasn't told me and I haven't asked. I've told you everything I know."

Alex nodded reluctantly. She believed him. "I appreciate your cooperation though you should know that what you've told me won't keep us from looking for your sister."

"Right." Raven smiled, shuffling backwards so he was sitting with his back against the wall. "But you'll have to catch her first. She won't fall for the same trick twice."

"Good things I have more tricks up my sleeve." Alex quipped before she turned to walk away. She hesitated as her prisoner called after her.

"Alex?"

"Director Danvers." Alex corrected, turning on her heel.

"About Dreamer…?"

"I'll pass your message on. If I remember." Alex turned and walked away, shaking her head.

"Thank you!"

-

Kara lifted her hand, hesitating for a moment before she knocked briskly on the door in front of her. As she waited for a response, her eyes darted toward the empty reception desk. She was grateful Lena's assistant wasn't there to keep her from passing at least. The security guards had been alarmingly easy to get by.

"Lena?" Kara called out softly when nobody appeared at the door or called for her to come in. "Are you in there? I'm here for our...appointment." She grimaced as the words left her lips. Appointment sounded so formal but she supposed that would be what Lena wanted now. Formality and nothing else. If she even still wanted to help her. "Lena?"

No answer. Kara glanced briefly over her shoulder before she carefully turned the handle to Lena's office. Finding it unlocked, she let herself in and paused at seeing Lena sitting at her desk. She closed the door behind her and took a quiet step closer to the desk, noticing that Lena's eyes were closed, her head braced on the heel of her hand while her elbow rested against the desk.

Kara listened closely as she silently approached. The sound of Lena's breathing let her know that the CEO was sleeping soundly and a small smile graced Kara's lips. She paused, allowing herself a couple of seconds to watch before she turned and slowly started to walk away. Their meeting could wait.

Her hand was on the door handle when a voice sounded from behind her. "Kara?"

Kara froze, her heart sinking with guilt. She turned to find Lena was awake and sitting up straight in her chair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I wasn't sure if our meeting was still on after...well what happened last night."

"I was just resting my eyes." Lena lied, clearing her throat afterwards. "Our meeting. Right, of course. Let's do that."

Kara stared at Lena in concern. "It's fine, it can wait. You've been so busy lately, you deserve to take some time to yourself."

"Kara, sit down." Lena stood up and walked around the desk, gesturing to the couch on the other side of the office. "I'm not busy."

Kara did as she was instructed, walking to the couch. She sat down, fiddling with her sleeve. She looked up as Lena sat down next to her. "Before we start, I wanted to apologise for last night. It didn't happen the way I wanted it to but Alex is doing her job and technically I work for her. I'm not saying I don't support her decision to arrest your friend because I do but I know it couldn't have been easy to watch. Trust me, I know what it's like to watch someone you care about being treated like a..." She paused, taking a breath as Lena slowly nodded. "Well you know. I'm rambling. I'm sorry, I-I didn't really expect to get this far if I'm honest. Usually at this point you've already told me to get out three times. Not that I blame you!"

Lena sighed and looked down at her lap. "Maybe you should."

"Huh?"

"I wanted to apologise too." Lena said, her brow furrowing. She didn't look up, not wanting to see surprise cross Kara's face like she knew it would. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did last night. I was just angry in the heat of the moment. I understand that you didn't have a choice in the matter of taking Hisa in. I'm not saying I don't disagree with it. You know that I do. But this is your job."

"Right." Kara agreed softly, uncertain if Lena was still angry with her. "For what it's worth, Alex will do everything she can to help her with finding her sister. I don't doubt that for a second. She'll do the right thing, she always does."

"I hope you're right about that." Lena replied quietly. She cleared her throat and finally looked up to meet Kara's eyes. "I'm working on a theory so we can avoid what you've seen in your vision. If I'm right, we should be able to safely remove the antimatter wave as it approaches the earth. With your help of course."

"Really?" Kara felt her heart leap at the suggestion. "How?"

"It's just a theory at the moment." Lena warned as Kara leaned forward slightly. "But I think if I fashion a Quadruple-Loffe configuration I can create an electromagnetic trap of sorts. Incorporating a vacuum may help to get the antimatter inside of the trap but I need to figure out-" Lena was cut off as Kara leaned forward and hugged her tightly without warning. "It's not a guarantee. I still need to find an energy source powerful enough, not to mention materials resilient enough to withstand that kind of heat."

"I know, I'm sorry." Kara guiltily drew back. "It's just...there's hope. I really needed this."

Lena mustered a small smile but before she had a chance to say anything, Kara's phone started to ring and the reporter quickly fished it out of her bag.

"Sorry, it's Alex." Kara apologised before answering. "Hey, Alex. What's going on?"

Lena stood and walked across her office to give Kara a moment to speak to her sister. She sat back down in her seat, her eyes darting over the plans on her desk. She worried that she had given Kara too much hope. There was so much to do, so many things they'd need to collect before she even started to construct the trap. Not to mention, that it was only theoretical.

"What do you mean, she got out?"

Kara's words caught Lena's attention and she looked up to see Kara furtively glance at her. She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"She's with me but...yeah. Yeah, I-I'll ask her." Kara sounded reluctant. "I'll call you back if I find anything out. Bye."

"Has something happened?" Lena asked as Kara hung up the phone and walked toward her desk, fidgeting nervously. "Is it about Hisa?"

"Yeah. She escaped this morning."

Lena watched as Kara bit her lip. "I didn't have anything to do with it. That's what you wanted to ask me, isn't it? Not that I'm unhappy about her escape but I haven't seen her since Alex arrested her. If you need evidence of my whereabouts during the breakout, I can give you access to my surveillance equipment. Though I'd hope it doesn't come to that."

"Of course not, I believe you." Kara said honestly, her shoulders slumping in release. "But if you hear from her can you…" She paused helplessly. "I don't expect you to tell me if you see her. I know she's your...friend. Just please be careful with her. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Lena crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm not going to let that happen again."

"Yeah, I guess not." Kara said quietly. Her gaze drifted away from Lena's and a tense silence settled between the two of them. "I should probably go then."

Lena slowly nodded and stood back up. "Probably. I'll call you if I need anything? I mean...I might need some things picked up for the device I'm trying to make."

"Of course. Anything you need. Thank you, again. I don't think I've said that enough. I don't think I could ever say it enough." Kara said honestly, her chest tight. "It really means everything to me that you're willing to help."

Lena shifted uncomfortably but tried not to let it show on her face. She didn't want Kara to die. That had become increasingly clear to her the more she pondered the situation and tried to think about how to avoid Kara's foreseen demise. She had wanted to tell herself that she wanted to keep Supergirl alive but it wasn't just that. More importantly than Supergirl, she just wanted Kara to still be in the world. She couldn't say that. "I'm happy to help. I really have to get back to w-"

"Wait, wait. I'm sorry." Kara grimaced at the rush of words from her mouth. "Just one more question and then I'll let you get on with things." She waited until Lena nodded for her to go ahead before she tentatively continued. "The other night, at the bar...you told Hisa you trust me. Did you mean that?"

Lena mulled that over for a moment while Kara anxiously fidgeted. "I trust you'll do the right thing for a person in need. I trust you as the protector of the city but as a friend? I really don't know. It seems trivial in the face of everything that's happening, I know, but I'm not sure I can move on from what happened. I can't be your friend again. I'm not sure how. I don't even know how to stop being angry with you."

"It's not trivial." Kara replied quietly. "I understand. I'll see you around, Lena."

Lena's eyes flicked up as Kara turned to walk away from her. "I would like to try." Her words caused the Kryptonian to freeze in her tracks. "And maybe someday…maybe it'll be almost like it was before."

Kara clenched her jaw, her eyes misting over. "I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Anything."

"Come by tomorrow." Lena slowly sat back down. "It couldn't hurt to bounce my ideas off someone. If you're free, of course."

"I'll be free." Kara's voice broke and she quickly cleared her throat. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Lena let out a shuddering breath as Kara practically ran from the room, closing the door behind her. She closed her eyes, trying to calm the inner turmoil wracking her. As angry as she was with Kara, she couldn't help but miss her friend. She wanted her back, she just didn't know if that was possible.

-  
Lena froze as she stepped out of the elevator into her loft, her skin prickling as the cold temperature of her apartment washed over her. She shuddered, her eyes darting back and forth for what had caused the chill. It became clear as she stepped forward and noticed the door to the balcony was open.

"It's just me."

Lena whirled around, her hand already reaching for the signal watch in her pocket before she saw a glimpse of red hair. "Hisa?"

Hisa shielded her eyes against the unexpected light as Lena flicked the switch up on the wall. "Sorry, I uh...dripped on your expensive looking carpet."

"You're soaked." Lena's brow furrowed as she looked at the puddle at Hisa's feet. "It's not even raining. What happened? I thought you were locked up."

"I broke out. Their plans for me didn't really match up to what I had in mind so…" Hisa shrugged her shoulders.

Lena sighed and turned, walking out of the room.

"Um…?" Hisa stared after Lena in confusion. "Okay, you're mad. I get that. Supergirl is your friend or whatever and you vouched for me with her and now you're probably getting a heap of backlash because of my impromptu exi-" She stopped as Lena reappeared, pushing a towel toward her. "Oh. I can't take this, it's too-"

"Don't say expensive." Lena warned, briefly narrowing her eyes before she brushed past Hisa and went to the kitchen. "I believe you were in the middle of an apology?"

"I was about done, actually." Hisa followed Lena, quickly towel drying her hair to keep it from dripping. "I'm just sorry to be causing you so much trouble."

Lena shook her head in response as she set about making some coffee. "You wouldn't have been in there if it hadn't been for me."

"Well that's true." Hisa grinned as Lena looked at her in surprise. "It's not your fault. It's not even Supergirl's fault, she's just doing her job. I would have wanted to lock me up too but that doesn't change the fact that I can't be right now. When I find Itsuki and she's safe, I'll hand myself in. Supergirl can do what she wants with me then."

"Why are you here?" Lena sat down at the counter, staring at Hisa. "Supergirl already asked me if you'd made contact with me. This is going to be the first place they look for you, and if it's as urgent as you say it is, you wouldn't be wasting time in my apartment, would you?"

Hisa was silent for a moment, her eyes darting to the ajar balcony door. "My contact's gone AWOL and I need help. I need a way to nullify a sonic scream so I can save my sister. You're the only person I trust now, you're the only person who can help me."

"Fine, I'll help you. But you owe me." Lena said, slowly nodding her head. "And I should warn you, I'm going to call upon that favour soon."

"You know you could have just asked me instead of making it sound like a threat. I wouldn't say no to helping you if you need it." Hisa stretched out her hand to Lena. "Partners?"

Lena felt her stomach sink uncomfortably as her mind drifted back to Kara. They had been partners at one point. She could only hope that she wasn't making a mistake now. She couldn't be friends with Kara again but she couldn't let her die either. She'd do anything to stop that. She grasped Hisa's hand, giving it a quick shake. "I'll get you some spare clothes. Are you up for a night in my lab?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Hisa smirked, drawing a soft laugh from Lena.

-  
"What's the situation?" Alex questioned as she stopped short of the two DEO agents, her eyes glancing upwards towards the large screen on the wall before she looked back at the two agents. "You said the Exploration Team found the meteor crash sight?"

"Yes, Director Danvers." The first agent nodded quickly, glancing to the screen to her left in a state of panic. "We've been waiting for your order to investigate the crash but…"

"But what?" Alex frowned, turning to the nervous agent in confusion. It was rare to see an agent of the DEO worried about something such as a crashed meteor. "What's wrong?"

"We've been detecting strange energy signatures coming from inside the meteor." The agent answered before taking a deep breath, turning towards the director. "Director, We think something is alive inside of it."

Alex nodded slowly, taking a moment to think about what she should do. She had no idea if whatever was inside of the meteor was hostile or not and she didn't like putting her agents at risk. "Fall back, we'll get J'onn to do a scan over it and see if he knows what's inside."

"Copy that, Director." The second agent nodded and turned back to his screen, gently pressing against the side of his headset. "Seal Team Alpha, Orders are to return back to base asap."

Alex frowned as she noticed the second agent's eyes widen despite his attempt to hide it, watching as he nodded nervously. "What is it?"

The second agent quickly turned at the Director's question. "The meteor is opening."

"What?!" Alex's breath shuddered as she struggled to think about what to do. She had considered calling Kara and asking for Supergirl's help but considering how little her sister was telling her about what was going on with her she reconsidered. "Are we able to establish visual contact?"

"Yes, Director." The first agent nodded quickly and immediately started to type on her keyboard, glancing up at the screen every couple of seconds. "Visual contact established."

Alex frowned in confusion as her video feed appeared on the large screen. She could barely see anything outside of where the submarine's lights were shining. Inside the light lay a large meteor the size of two large fully grown men resting at the bottom of the sea with a strange green light glowing from small cracks around the exterior. She had no idea why but every part of her was screaming danger. She hurried to speak to her team. "Seal Team Alpha, get away from there!"

"Yes, Dir...wait, WHAT IS THAT?!"

Alex froze in horror as a large hand the size of a large person's head tore through the front of the submarine like it was made of tissue, the sounds of the agent's agonizing screams echoed throughout the entire room until the video feed tuned black with the last thing Alex noticing was the water turning red with blood. Goosebumps crawled their way up her skin and suddenly she felt icy cold. "Wasn't the...the Submarine lined with Nth metal?"

"Yes, Director." The first agent nodded slowly, still in a state of shock. She had never seen or heard anything like what she just saw before in her entire life. It was like a horror movie. "The entire exterior was lined with a two inch thick Nth metal lining."

Alex jumped as the video feed from the submarine flickered back to life, attracting the attention of every DEO agent in the room. The video was covered in a thick red hue, chunks of flesh and bones floating around with large shards of metal from the submarine around it. In the centre above the split open meteor floated a large shadow twice the size of a white martian tearing apart one of the agents, it's detail impossible to pickout thanks to how dark it was. She gritted her teeth as the creature took off, swimming out of sight before the video cut out. "We need Supergirl."

TBC...


End file.
